Let me just say....

.... (in typical hyberbolical fashion) that I LOVE RICHMONT. I can't believe it has taken me until now to begin grad school here. My first day of class was yesterday and I was continually blown away by the welcoming atmosphere, the passion of the professors, the kindness of all the students. When my first professor opened up the class and the day with prayer requests and prayer, I thought Where AM I??? Is it a school? A church? No... it's just Richmont. Being awesome.

I have Ethics, Personal and Spiritual Life of the Counselor, and Clinical Assessment. And two other weekend courses I'm sure I'll talk about later. I am trying to convince Hubs we need to move to Chattanooga so I can go to class every day, not just one day. It might take some work, considering our whole life is in K. But.... I'm a good convincer-er-er.

I will blog more about my exciting new life. Exciting in that my tail bone hurts today from all the driving, sitting in class, and sitting to read today. Exciting in that I am starting to learn new words. Exciting in that I am obeying God although I don't know where the heck our lives will be in three years. God is good. And big. Gooder and bigger than me.

Our Quick Getaway

So last Thursday night, Jack and I decided we should skip town for a night. Friday morning we packed up the Jetta and drove to Abingdon, VA. It's about 2 hours from here. It was really fun to spontaneously get away. We stayed the night at a B&B called The Shepherd's Joy.

Apparently, the lady "Joy" has lived here all her life and she and her husband "Jack" have turned it into a B&B. I think she channeled Mamaw in her decorating style.


The thing that we didn't like about it is that we had to eat breakfast with the other guests. At 8:30. Breakfast with people you will never see again is not our idea of a good time. But we obliged. Thankfully, one of the other guests was also a pastor and I don't think he wanted to eat breakfast with us either, so he and his group weren't too inquisitive. If you run a B&B, you have to give people the OPTION to eat alone or with people. Or in the company of others but not at the same table. There are lots of options. And lots of other times. Times that are double digits. And "Joy" really wanted us at 8:30, but I think we surprised "Jack" when we came down at that time. Oh well. At least it wasn't a hotel.

Our little room:


Does this not remind you of Etowah?


Jack looking over things:

We ate at Willa Jack's. Delish.


My dinner: grouper topped with crab and shrimp in a wine butter sauce. Ahhh-MAZE-ing.

Jack digging into his salmon. (Mine was better but he didn't admit to order envy.)



I was really proud to be staying at a mamaw's house:


The next day, Saturday, we went to play tourist. We visited an old mill in Abingdon. It was extremely crowded with an over 70 tourist group, as was every other infamous establishment in Abingdon. This is Jack at the mill. I asked him to stand in a certain place and he cooperated without really knowing why. Bwhaha.


We partook at the local winery and did a brief wine tasting. It was nothing like California, but it was nice.


Jack outside the winery. And the edge of my face.


And finally, us at the local Soda Shoppe in town. We had to get a coke float before we left!


It was a fun time to get away and a good end to the summer. Or start of the school year.

First day of class is Tuesday for me!

Domestic Goddess

Since this is my last week without working or schooling, I'm doing some last nesting things before it hits next week. I love to be busy, don't get me wrong, but I just want to feel "ready." Nesting.

This is what I did today.

Before:

After:

This is the fabric for those of you who are interested:


And then....
this is my favorite domestic project I have ever done! I almost forgot to take a before picture, but here is a little peek of the before:


Our friends gave us an armchair. Great size, comfy, etc. So I wanted to recover it. I wanted to use little to no money. So I thought, "what is big enough and soft enough to cover a chair?" Sheets, of course! So I used back to college sales, coupons, and store credit and paid ZERO for a pair of jersey sheets and a throw pillow. And... (drumroll please)....



That, my friends, is a chair covered with sheets. I tucked and tucked and used upholstery tacks. Of course, now I can't get it in the room where it's supposed to go, but that's what husbands are for.



And this is the little secret...



Sorry about the picture, I don't know why it won't flip. But the next time you are over, don't look at the back of my new chair!

Granola Recipe

Here is the recipe:

1 cup honey
1/3 cup canola oil
1/8 tsp salt (I don't use)
4 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats (or a little more)
1/2 cup of almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1 cup cranberries, craisins, or raisins (or any dried fruit)
A dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg (I do both, generously)

I vary these ingredients depending on what I have. Sometimes I use sunflower seeds and the original recipe calls for pumpkin seeds. Also, the only thing I really measure is the oil and honey.

Heat oven to 300 and grease a baking sheet. Combine honey, oil, and salt in small saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir until hot and blended about 2 minutes.

Mix oats, almonds, and various seeds in large bowl. Stir honey mixture again. Drizzle over oat mixture while stirring. Continue stirring until oats are thoroughly coated.

Spread mixture on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Stir. (This is when your hair catches the scent.) Continue baking, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden brown, 10-18 more minutes. I go for 10 or 12 minutes.

Cool and stir in raisins or dried fruit. It takes a while to dry and cool. That's when it will become crunchy and like granola. I stir periodically while it's cooling then store in an airtight container.

Wah lah! Let me know how yours turns out!

My hair smells like granola....

..... because when you spend a lot of time at home, you might make a lot of things in the kitchen. So instead of spending $2.80 x 2 every week at the store for boxes of granola, I have been making it. It's really good! And easy! But the smell gets in my hair when I stir it. I could think of worse hair scents though.

Anyway, yes, I have been at the house quite a bit. I have actually gotten a job though! A tutoring job. I'll be working with a company whose clients are learning disabled and will go to their home a couple of times a week to work with them. I wasn't looking for a job whatsoever, but this came around and it is a financial BLESSING, let me tell you! It starts in a few weeks. I was planning on subbing and going to school, but now I will do this about 12 hours a week and go to school on Tuesdays.

Aside from getting a job and making granola, I registered for classes. I have 11 hours total and only have to go to class one day a week thanks to some weekend intensive courses. I'm really excited about it and feel the relief starting from finally beginning to do what I have been MADE to do. Praise God. It's something I pray for you to find too- your true calling.

Jack asked me what I was doing this afternoon and I retorted "wishing it was this time next month." I'm getting really tired of not being busy! I'm at my best when I have a schedule and it's pretty full. Granted, we are planning a retreat for 18 people this weekend, but that doesn't count. And never mind that our house is practically ready to sell because I've been able to do a lot. And forget the fact that I'm extremely rested and have almost read all 7 Harry Potter books. And please ignore the fact that this is the only day since May that I might have even thought the word "bored." I shudder at that word. I thought that word today so I went to Target and I didn't need that word anymore. Shudder. I bought a baby gift and paper towels. It was exciting. And I caught a whiff of granola every once in a while.

This part is for my cousins and mom and aunt:
I was cleaning out my nightstand yesterday that was FULL of cards and letters. Jill, there were so many from you! There were tons from my mom from when I was in college and lots from Mamaw when she "felt good." I suddenly found myself weeping over the letters from her. Her handwriting. It was a good feeling, although unexpectedly sad because I didn't realize I miss her so much. I opened a "Thinking of You" card; she had written on lined paper and put it in the card, but on the card itself she wrote in the bottom corner

"In Spirit, as you go- I will be with you."

It was what I needed in that moment on that particular day, and the Holy Spirit used Mamaw's words from 10 years ago. And I knew that indeed she was with me, through her letters and cards. It was a very sad but Holy moment.

Now that you are weeping too, please know that I also found this in my nightstand:

Daily Bread

I am trying to be good about updating! (ahem, ML!)

I woke up anxious today. Actually, I went to bed anxious and tossed and turned all night. I fell asleep and then woke up again when a HUGE storm came through right around midnight. I think it went on for about an hour. I really felt like we were going to be Dorothy and Toto and just get swept up in it. It ended but I was awake enough to not feel sleepy anymore.

I was thinking. And thinking. And tossing. And turning. And thinking.

THINKING!

I hate it when I can't switch my brain off.

We have had so much going on lately. Nothing bad. Just enough to stir up some questions and doubt and fear and guilt. It's hard not working, and it's our choice for me not to work. I got the syllabus for a class today and it's GOOD I'm not going to be working during school (except for subbing.)

I know it's good to wrestle with things. I want challenges. We both do.

I will close with these lyrics from Jill Phillips' song "Daily Bread." It 'just happened' to come on today when I needed to hear it the most.

There’s a restlessness in the soul of man
Nobody’s tamed it yet
You never fail to keep any promises
But somehow we forget

That you’re always right on time

You feed us all with a silver spoon
And like your foolish kids
We start worrying about what we’re gonna do
When the hunger comes again

But you’re always right on time
With an open hand
You have exactly what I need
Daily bread
Daily bread

You have the wisdom and the patience
We need the grace to see it clear
Too soon and we take it all for granted
Too late is more than we can bear

So you’re always right on time

With an open hand
You have exactly what I need
Daily bread
Daily bread
Daily bread

Linky Link

Click here and it will direct you to Steven Bridges' blog post about Bo and Laura's wedding. Wow. So beautiful.