Thanksgiving with Friends

 We had the wonderful pleasure of hosting some friends for Thanksgiving!  

Great times, good food, and wonderful people!

 

26 Feels Good

Happy Birthday to Me!

Office Upcycle

My office space felt really crabby and un-inviting and was in desperate need of a face-lift.  I have a lot of writing ahead of me and I figured I needed a space that would help stimulate good thinking. So I went to Goodwill to see what kind of treasures I could find.

Before

Tour de Fall in Southern Illinois

While the summers in Southern Illinois are quite brutal, it makes it worth it in the fall when the colors are changing and the air gets crisp.  S. Illinois has the "picture perfect" fall - it is so tempting to take pictures wherever I go!  Here is a taste of our fall :-)

Morning out the front reading room

Journey of a Thesis: It's not just a paper

Well it has been approximately 1.75 years since I have started the thesis journey.  I have been so lucky to have ample support throughout this journey, but I have come to realize that many people do not know what the process is for writing a thesis.  (I wish I would have known when I decided to do this option for my degree, my decision might have been different!).   I am about to explain the logistical side of writing a thesis, and I will enter my own commentary as necessary :-)

Confessions of a Workoutaholic

I have a serious problem. I know the title sounds funny, but it is true.  I am addicted to working out.  I am addicted to the adrenaline rush.  I am addicted to the feeling of empowerment and being in control.  I am addicted to the way my body feels after I have pushed it to the limit.

Coffee and Ice Cream

When I'm not being studious behind my laptop, glasses perched on my nose and mozart plugged into my ears, I am working at either Cool Spoons Frozen Yogurt and Treats or Common Grounds Coffeehouse.  To answer your question, yes I get free coffee and ice cream. Dream job(s). 

Pickles and Pesto

Pesto

A few months back I helped my friend Terry Kessinger put on a rehearsal dinner for her son.  One of her appetizers was a Caprese salad skewer (cherry tomatoes & mozzarella chunks drizzled with pesto).  She used her home-made pesto for the skewers and it was delicious!  With my garden exploding with basil I thought it would be fun to try to make it myself.  

She graciously gave me her recipe - thank you Terry!

Joy that is Inexpressible

"Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precise that gold that perishes through it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 

1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV)

Adventures in Canning: First Attempt

What do you like to do at 9:30pm on a Saturday night?

Well, I like to learn how to can peaches, that's what I like to do!

Garden Update

Our garden is exploding!  

I am definitely regretting the chicken wire around the boxes, it makes it very difficult to weed and care for the plants in the box.  I don't think we were expecting the plants to get this big so we didn't think it was a big deal. Next time I think we will do a fence around the whole thing, which would allow space to move around the boxes more freely.  

Regardless, the plants are very healthy and starting to blossom and produce veggies!  

The Month of May: Beginnings of a Homestead

Well after having family visit, graduating, going on vacation, visiting Oregon, and being in Josh & Amy's wedding we only had a few days left in May to really top off the month.  So why not start our next chapter in life with some homesteading? 

I mean we live on a farm anyway, why not learn how to farm!

Raised Bed Garden

(This is our third try at planting a garden, the others have failed miserably...I think we were lacking passion and commitment)

The Month of May: Josh & Amy Get Hitched

The month of May is not over yet!!!  We started the month with family visiting Carbondale and we were fortunate enough to be able to fly home to Oregon straight from our vacation for more family!  Never can get enough of family time!  Anyway, we got in late Wednesday night and stayed through early Monday morning.  Here are the main events in Oregon...

Grill Master Ken: Pizza Edition

The Month of May: Honeymoon

The Roth family got to go on our first ever week-long vacation!  While we were extremely grateful for the opportunity to get away to Eagle Crest for a few days after the impromptu wedding, it did not quite feel like a full honeymoon.  (Probably because we were like "um what just happened"...."wait are we married now for real?" the whole time)  So fast forward three years and voila, trip to the Virgin Islands it was!  We decided on the Virgin Islands because we were able to find some really incredible deals, they spoke English, and no currency change was necessary.  Also, after doing extensive honeymoon destination research we felt attracted to the vibes of the Virgin Islands. Particularly St. Croix which is the largest and least populated island.  Most of the island is protected natural habitat and of the three islands it is the least 'touristy'. 

Highlights of St. Croix, VI

Pre-workout (STL airport)

The Month of May: Family & Milestones

We had the wonderful privilege of hosting family from Oregon for the first week of May.  My parents flew in Friday evening and we spent the weekend doing "Carbondale Life." Dad and Chris did a meat run, Mom and I did the farmer's market, we had a gym party, church and serving, and finally supper club.  We tried out a few local BBQ places for my dad to sample and judge.  17th St. was the first place since it is very close to where we live.  Dad says it was "ok," which I tend to agree.  But it is always a fun experience to go the original restaurant in Murphysboro. 

The Month of May: New House

Well we decided to say goodbye to city life and give country living a try.  By God's wonderful blessing we were able to find an absolutely perfect place that had our name written all over it.  It is about ten minutes from downtown Carbondale.  We are renting from a couple that has owned the farm for over 80 years!  Our house is smack dab in the middle of it all.

A Year Later....

Well looks like it is time for my annual once-a-year blog post....yikes, has it already been a year!? Time flies when you are having fun.

Ok so year at a glance:

Fall &Winter 2013

Rachel - I was offered a Teaching Assistant position in the Kinesiology Department.  Saying bye to working with my good pals Mallory and Liz was a tough decision, but it turned out to be a great opportunity and a good challenge for me to overcome. Teaching is seriously terrifying.  When I agreed to take the position I had no clue what I was getting myself into!  I have a whole new respect for teachers that is for sure.  It is not easy to keep those dang kids entertained and try to fit some knowledge into their noggins at the same time! I taught Walking and Jogging for Health and Fitness and Diversity in American Sports.  Fall semester was rough, I would learn the material the day before then have to create a lesson plan and turn around and teach it the next day.  I most definitely learned more than the students did.  Not to mention creating quizzes, exams, assignments, and grading!  I learned a lot of cool things that worked, and some utter fails....mostly my jokes. It's cool, at least I think I'm funny. Spring semester was thankfully much easier since it was the second time around. On the other side of it, I can say I'm glad I did it.  It really really stretched me to step outside of my box and I think I grew a lot from it.

 Davies Hall (Kinesiology Building)