{meals this week}

Being a full time student = no time to cook real food. 

Well, maybe there is time, but by dinner I'm just too exhausted and overwhelmed with homework to make an extravagant meal for two. Sometimes Jordan and I ask our on campus friends to kindly swipe us meals at the college, or we just make something easy like soup and sandwiches. This week we had a day of breakfast for dinner. Red Berries tea, Cheerios, and oatmeal. I was content. Today I went next door to the girls' house for a meal cooked by our new friend, Lawson. He made a fancy shmancy and delicious dinner for us: tomato basil soup with mushrooms, pesto pasta, seasoned mozzarella & tomatos, baked brie crescents, and garlic cheese bread. Our stomachs were full and to be honest, we were all pretty impressed.

 Now I am inspired and determined to try cooking at least one real meal a week. We will start there and see if I can stick to it. Wish me luck.

{Machine Gun Preacher}

Last night my friend Bethany and I were sitting and talking on my front porch like girls do. She told me about this new movie, and I instantly wanted to see it. This is going to be a great film. A true story that is happening today in our world. Go here to learn more about Machine Gun Preacher. 

{write a letter to someone you love}

Lately I have learned the importance of a written note, a letter, or even a little message typed up in a word document. This small gesture of love makes a huge impact and in some ways goes beyond words spoken and not saved. I like the idea of writing letters to those people who deserve to hear a little encouragement, affirmation, or just a nice bit of acknowledgment for all they do that seems to go unnoticed. This inspiration has come from our friends Kyle and Kelsey Lantz, as well as my favorite bloggers at todaysletters. I am going to be more intentional about this writing letters thing.

Source: bellacosas.tumblr.com via Delores on Pinterest

Letter #1

Dear Husband,

Thank you for waking me up so we can take a breakfast trip to Starbucks. I loved my egg and cheese sandwich + latte meal.  I know that you hate washing dishes just as much as I do, and your willingness to help our around the house does not go unnoticed. I recognize that I am a bit crazy when it comes to cleanliness and clutter. Sorry for that. I am very glad that you drive me to work at 6:00am so I don't have to walk all alone in the dark. Waking up that early is hard enough, and sacrificing 30 more minutes of sleep is even harder. Oh, and you really are the best husband because you let me choose the music in the car, even if it's a country song or two (which I know you despise). I love you more than Taco Bell cinnamon twists and original tart JuJuBerry!

Love, Al

{"why conservative christians flock to a gay bar"}

"He believes that too many Christians don't understand the complexity of the small number of Bible verses that mention homosexuality - he also thinks that gay people are often too quick to dismiss Christianity....

He admits that some churches will continue to focus on "healing'"gay people of homosexuality - while others will simply welcome and affirm gay people on their own terms...

He says that the Marin Foundation simply wants to get gay people thinking about Christian spirituality in its broadest sense, without a disproportionate emphasis on sexual morality."

Read this article

This man's ministry gives me some hope that the church might be able to turn around and change its actions towards the gay community. The church has caused so much damage already, but this picture is a sign of reconciliation, forgiveness, and love. I am so glad to hear stories like this one. 

{Chopped}

I couldn't resist. I have spent the past two weeks debating whether or not I should cut all of my hair off.  Everyone told me not to do it. 

Well, I caved. 

I had proudly rocked the mid-back length hair for four years. I loved it, but it was hard to manage, and I hated putting it up for my McConn shifts. I was trying not to do the typical "cut your hair once you get married" thing, but it just makes too much sense. Now I understand why every new wife follows this pattern. 

Thankfully I had the support of Mr. Shepherd. He was happy to hear that I would no longer be able to plop my hair into a messy bun on the tippy top of my head (he really hated that look). He was so happy that he made a little video of the hair chopping experience. Or maybe he just did it because he is obsessed with his new iphone...

Either way, I am happy to have a new do with a feather for flair.

What do you think?

{Friday Night Lights}

Jordan and I are finally caught up with Man Men, which has been our favorite show for a long time now. After we watched the last episode, we realized that the new season wouldn't be out on DVD for a while. Our next move was finding a new show to rent from our friend family vid. 

We gave Friday Night Lights a try, and it surprised us. This show is actually legit! And sort of addicting if I'm being honest. We stayed up until 4:00am one night watching this thing. 

We finished the first season in only a few weeks, but I've heard there are plenty more to keep us entertained for the rest of senior year. 

{Mr. Shepherd}

The guy in the photos

If you read this blog then you may have started to notice the same guy showing up in Alli’s photos…that’s me. I have spent the past three years either in the forefront or the background of this lovely lady’s photos…and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Since I’m living the life she is blogging, I figured it was about time I hopped on board. So here is my first post. It is just one of many to come.

{Butternut Squash Soup}

Ingredients:
- butternut squash
- 1 small onion
- carrot
- celery
- potato
- nutmeg
- cinnamon
- chicken broth (about 32 oz.)
- italien seasoning
- salt & pepper
- 2 tbsp. butter

Peirce the squash with a fork, bake in the oven at 400 degrees for one hour.  Melt the butter in a pot on the stove, chop and add veggies, add seasoning, let cook for about 5mins. Pour the chicken broth over the veggies until covered. Bring to a boil, add the rest of chicken broth, cover, simmer for about 40mins. After squash is done, peel the skin and scoop out the seeds. Cut squash and add to veggie pot for a few minutes. Transfer the soup to the food processor in sections until the entire pot is pureed.

( I know, it looks like baby food. Never mind that.)

This whole process took me a little over an hour. You can alter the amount of veggies you use or add your own seasonings or other fun ingredients to it. I have heard that adding sour cream to this soup is great too. I didn't measure most of it because I was making it up as I went along. By the time I was done I ended up with a giant bowl of soup that is going to last me all week :)

You know what else? Plain butternut squash without any of the other veggies is real tasty too. So if you only have the squash, go for it.

Fun fact: In Ireland, all the soup is pureed. You never know what's in the soup, it just tastes really yummy. It's almost like solving a mystery.

I hope you enjoy making this as much as I did. Please tell me if you end up using this recipe!

{Back to School}

It was my last first day of school on Tuesday. It's a surreal feeling being back at IWU after living in Ireland for a semester, becoming a Mrs., and starting a whole new stage of life that involved bills and house work. I have this strange feeling like I don't really belong here anymore. But I guess I expected that once Jordan and I had made our plans last fall. We knew everything was going to change, and change for the better.

The best part about starting school is the season. Fall. And with fall comes pumpkin spice lattes at the bucks. In fact, I think I just might head over there right now to get myself some fall goodness in a cup.

{our wedding video}

We are so thankful for our talented videographer Cory Hiemann. Cory is a friend of ours who knew exactly what we wanted and also understands our taste and personality. This video couldn't be any better. I trusted that he would make something that would capture the day beautifully, and he did just that and more. 

{The Music Never Stopped}

looks good huh? Reminds me of Mr. Holland's Opus, which is a phenomenal movie. I think this one will be too.

{raspberry jam}

Michigan raspberry's are ready for picking! Yesterday we went on a family trip to get the juicy red bursts of sweet and tart goodness. My Mom's coworker let us pick as many berries as we could find in his garden. We were able to fill a five cup bowl of the little guys :) 

Plus, it was loads of fun and the weather was simply beautiful.

The best part about berries is that you can make jam. so we did. 

here's how:

1 cup berries

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

(also, if you want it to be really sweet and yummy, add some brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon)

Bring ingredients to a boil for three minutes in a saucepan. let cool and thicken.

enjoy.

{mol-pol}

 

This is Molly, our family's kitty that I never get to see anymore. Isn't she so cute? She is the funniest cat there is. And she is quite the diva. 

This weekend Jordan and I are visiting my home town, Battle Creek, Michigan, and I am loving all of the time we are getting with my parents and sister and the kitties. Today we are garage sale hopping, picking raspberry's, having a big cookout and bonfire, and tomorrow is the Kalamazoo farmers market that I am really looking forward to. There is nothing better than sleeping in, eating pop'n fresh orange cinnamon rolls, enjoying the Michigan weather, and hanging out with family all weekend.

I have to say, I have the best family in the world. I really do. When we're here, we don't waste any time. The norm is sitting in the living room for six or seven hours talking and getting interviewed by my Dad, watching movies together each night, going out to eat a few times, and taking night walks around the block. We never run out of things to talk about or things to do, and it's always a party.

I say yes to pure, pure Michigan.

{lets listen to Ramsey}

Did you know that 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck? Or that more young adults file for bankruptcy than graduate from college? Can you believe that Forbes 400 richest people in America said that the #1 way to become wealthy is to stay debt free?

crazy huh?

I don't know if you know who Dave Ramsey is, but you should. He is legit. I have listened to my Dad praise him for years and I never really understood why....but now I get it. This guy knows what he is talking about when it comes to money. We started watching his Financial Peace University a few weeks ago and we were surprised at how much we agreed with Ramsey's ideas. We are only a few discs in and we have already learned so much. It really is amazing. 

 

Now we just started this new way of living, so things are still a little rough, but we are pretty serious about this whole saving money and budgeting thing. Let me just tell you how it all works.

Very important first steps:

1. Emergency fund of $1,000 (or $500 if you make under $20,000 a year). Eventually your emergency fund should equal three months worth of expenses. 

2. Budget. We used Ramsey's sheets for budgeting and we love them! You should create the budget before each month and write down everything that you will spend. And you have to actually stick to the budget or it's basically pointless. 

3. Envelope system. Some categories in your budget you should use cash to pay for. The cash goes in the envelope at the beginning of the month, and once it's gone, it's gone! 

Also, Ramsey does not believe in credit cards or debt other than a mortgage. That includes car payments, loans, and especially credit cards. This sounds crazy to most people, but after listening to his two hour session on debt, I was a believer.  Now I can see that debt isn't a privilege, it is a product.

"Myth: Debt is a tool and should be used to help create prosperity.
Truth: Debt isn't used by wealthy people nearly as much as we are led to believe.

Debt is dumb. Most normal people are just plain broke because they are in debt up to their eyeballs with no hope of help. If you're in debt, then you're a slave because you do not have the freedom to use your money to help change your family tree."

Thankfully Jordan and I don't have credit cards, and we will never ever get one. ever.

Helpful Hints:

1. loaning money to a friend/relative is not helping them

2. don't co-sign for a loan for someone else

3. gambling will not make you rich

4. car payments are not a way of life

5. a car lease is the most expensive, buy used!!

6. never take our more than a 15 year mortgage

7. You don't need a credit card for anything. You can use a debit card for everything. 

8. If you use cash you spend 12-18% less. (It hurts more to give your cash away)

9. Debt consilidation is a con. You can't borrow your way out of debt. 

10. Borrower is slave to the lender. Debt is not a tool. 

"My contention is that debt brings on enough risk to offset any advantage that could be gained through leverage of debt. Given time—a lifetime—risk will destroy the perceived returns purported by the myth-sayers. I once was a myth-sayer myself and could repeat the myths very convincingly. I was especially good with the "debt is a tool" myth. I even sold rental property that was losing money to investors by showing them, with very sophisticated internal rates of return, how they would actually make money!

Boy, what a reach. I could spout the myth with enthusiasm, but life and God had some lessons to teach me. Only after losing everything I owned and finding myself bankrupt did I think that risk should be factored in, even mathematically. It took my waking up in "intensive care" to realize how dumb and dangerous this myth is. Life hit me hard enough to get my attention and teach me.

According to Proverbs 22:7, "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave of the lender" (NRSV). I was confronted with this scripture and had to make a conscious decision of who was right – my broke finance professor, who taught that debt is a tool, or God, who showed the obvious disdain for debt. Beverly Sills had it right when she said, "There is no shortcut to any place worth going." 

- Dave Ramsey

  

{ingredients}

Ingredients is a documentary about food.

We live in a society where people are more clueless than ever before about where their food comes from. The system of food has cheapened, people are lazy, nutrition is not a top priority, and really, most people will choose the way that is the most convenient to eat a meal and move on with their day. It's so obvious, especially in places like Marion, Indiana where all you see when driving down the bypass is fast food.

The good thing is, not everyone has chosen to live like this. Some people have realized the benefits of eating local, and they are choosing a new path of sustainable food and a connected community. Thanks to the farmers and chefs who work hard to open up the eyes of our culture, because we need to change our habits and fight against the temptation to do what is easiest.

I will admit, I never seriously thought about local food until I studied abroad in Ireland. There, everyone buys local. Food is an experience. Food means community. The Irish will walk into town to specialty shops and take as much time as needed to buy food and prepare their meal. I was fascinated by this, and inspired. And now I want to get moving and live like I care about my health.

Lets "bring good food back to the table"

You can rent the film from itunes and watch, or buy it on their website for $20.00.