day ninety three

youth group balloon animal shenanigans

day ninety - ninety two

ninety - To be honest, zero photos were taken this day. Whoops! A couple has asked me to make cupcakes for their wedding, and the day was mostly spent getting ready for a cake tasting for them. I'm so glad I have had so many opportunities to not only learn and grow in the things that I enjoy, but also experience them as jobs. This is majorly helping me decide what career to choose. I'm learning that there are some things that I love as hobbies, but not as jobs. It's awesome that I'm learning this now.

ninety one - Today a letter came for me in the mail. It was addressed to me, from me. I had written this in the third grade and completely forgotten about it. Mostly I wrote about who my friends were, our class pets, and my favorite field trips. My favorite is where I said "We have to write everything in Cursive." with the word "cursive" in cursive, for creative emphasis of course. Because I was just that great of a third grader. Getting this letter was a total surprise. It made me laugh and it made me feel weird and grown up. At the same time, I will probably look back at this blog in a few years and see it the same way I see this letter today.

ninety two - This evening I got to spend some time with little Eleanor! She is so very sweet and smiley. Her parents brought her home a mustache from the birthday party they went to. hilarious.

day eighty nine

I need to get better at coming up with words for these things ;)

day eighty eight

Crafting, always.
I've been making things for a baby shower for Heather and mister Bennett.
Can't wait to meet that little man :)

Using newspaper for the pouf was Heather's idea. Isn't it neat?

day eighty seven // ginger miso ramen

If I had to pick one type of food to eat for the rest of my life it would probably be Asian food. I have especially been a fan since becoming a vegetarian four years ago, as it is simple to make Asian meals meatless if they aren't already. Chicken Ramen noodles used to be a common lunch for me (both before and after vegetarian-ism, because that flavor packet has no chicken in it whatsoever. This kind of grosses me out now. mmm, chicken flavor. No thanks.) The taste doesn't appeal to me now. Despite this, today for lunch I was wanting some Ramen. So I pulled out a package of noodles and threw out the packet, used miso instead and added some other yummy things to make this healthier - and better tasting in my opinion - Ramen noodle bowl. It may take a little more work this way, but it is still so simple and delicious.  I took some photos just in case it was tasty enough to share, and alas! :)

GINGER MISO RAMEN
makes two servings

- one package dry ramen noodles, pitch the seasoning packet
(you may be able to find plain ramen noodles somewhere, I'm not sure. I used the ones from the packet because we had some in the pantry. you could probably use soba noodles here as well if you wanted.)

- 1 1/2 tablespoons red miso

- 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

- 4 large leaves napa cabbage, thinly sliced

- 3 oz firm tofu, diced into about 1/2 inch pieces

- pinch Chinese five spice powder (I use this one)

- about 1 teaspoon soy sauce or liquid aminos

- chopped green onion to garnish (optional)

Start by preparing your tofu; Press with a kitchen towel to dry it out a bit, then sprinkle with salt and a little Chinese five spice. Place a small pan over medium high heat with about a teaspoon or so of peanut oil (or olive, coconut, etc). Add tofu and stir-fry until the edges start to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add 3 cups of water to a medium saucepan over high heat. Stir in miso, ginger, and cabbage and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and boil until they are done (around five minutes or less). Turn off the heat and stir in a splash of soy sauce or liquid aminos and the tofu.

Divide between two bowls and top with green onions.

Get out your chopsticks! :)

day eighty four - eighty six

a little three day recap.

1. always a good day for fresh juice. delish.

2. I was able to help a couple from church with making a few things for their daughter's baptism celebration; cross-shaped cookies, cupcakes, decorations, and I took photos for them. fun fun.

3. Eleanor's baptism.

day eighty three

getting out of my comfort zone is good.

I used to avoid straightforward portraits of myself entirely.