it all fades away

Lately I have found that I can get pretty worked up over the smallest things.  These little things really have a way of dragging me down.  Something I am really focusing on is stressing less.  

Stress is my enemy.  It has caused physical and emotional pain for me, and the hardest part about it is that you have to do the work to get rid of your stress.  Whether that is cutting back on your commitments or finding ways to relax more.  It always baffles me how I can be so stressed out over something that, at the time seems so trivial, but when I put it into perspective it is so small.  My mind can get so stuck on what is going right and stay in that place for a while.  It isn't fun at all.  There are lots of tears.  And then my husband completely catches me off guard and makes me laugh, the laughter vanishes all of the pain, all of the nuances that bring me down.  

Today it was a child's laughter.  Our sweet niece and nephew have an amazing effect on me.  I look at them, and all the pain in the world just disappears.  In that moment all you can do is be overjoyed at the life God brought into the world, see His beauty and His creation, and stand in awe at what the world looks like for a child.  It is beyond beautiful, so much so that I can't fully express it.  

So we did just that today.  We went to the wild animal park, and marveled in God's creation.  And all of the hurt, all of the stress, all of the pain and anxiety, all of the to-do's that never seem to get done, all of the changes I think need to be made...

disappear.  

sausage and quinoa stuffed acorn squash

This past Thursday was such an excited day for the LaFuze's...we got our first CSA box!!!  I am a proponent for organic product but the Mr. doesn't always agree with the cost.  Some friends of ours have mentioned that they joined a CSA and love that they get great, seasonal, organic produce straight from the farm.  The Mr. loved this idea, but more importantly he loved the price.  

The beautiful thing about it is you never really know what you are going to get.  Our first box contained apples, oranges, grapefruit, persimmons, eggplant, golden beats, acorn squash, rosemary, red leaf lettuce, collard greens, romaine, parsley, and something I can't quick figure out still.  We are splitting our boxes with another friend of ours, which gives us the perfect amount of produce for the week.  At first I was worried about cooking with the ingredients, but now I've accepted it as a challenge.  I can't wait to try out some new recipes using ingredients I wouldn't normally buy at the market.  

The first piece of produce I chose to cook this week was acorn squash.  

Just the fact that it was squash sent my swooning away (squash and myself have a beautiful relationship).  

I've never cooked with it before so I searched for the perfect recipe.  Well, I decided to take two recipes and turn it into my own.  

One recipe was strictly vegetarian, and since the Mr. was already going out on a limb and eating acorn squash I decided to give him some meat.  

Italian sausage that is...

Add in some onion, chives, parsley, pistachios, and parmesan, and you have yourself one heck of a meal! 

 (The original recipe called for 4 acorn squashes, but I only had one, so we just have a lot of stuffing left over.)

Ingredients:
4 small acorn squashes, halved and seeds removes
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 c. quinoa
8 oz. sweet italian sausage
1 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c. roasted pistachios, chopped
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
1 oz. Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Brush olive oil over cut squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place cut-side down in a baking dish.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
3. Cook quinoa in 2 cups of water. (Add quinoa and water into a pan, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, fluff with a fork.)
4. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Cook the italian sausage.
5. Remove sausage and place on a plate with paper towels to soak up with oil.
6. Add onion to the pan and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until onion is softened.  Add parsley and chives and cook an additional 2 minutes.
7. Add the cooked quinoa and pistachios to the onion mixture, sprinkle with parmesan and stir together.
8. Spoon mixture into each squash and broil for 5 minutes.

saying good-bye to 25

There is always something special about birthdays.  When I was a kid I remember not getting a wink of sleep the night before, it was almost as good as Christmas.  Each year as I get older, that same special feeling slowly fades away.  I wake up ready for a normal day.  Then my mom will usually give me a ring, sing me happy birthday, and a light bulb will go on and I'll be reminded that it is my birthday.  

Tomorrow I turn 26, and it doesn't feel any different.  I'm actually just trying to get together what my kids are going to do, what I'll teach, what I'll pack for lunch...you know, the everyday to-do list.  And then tonight I got a sweet voicemail from a dear friend reminding me to cherish the last day of my youth.  Well, I think I still have a lot of youth left in me, but I did start thinking about this past year of my life.  Each year you add more wisdom, more life experiences, but I think this was the year of GRACE.  Learning to give myself grace has been a battle.  But it is given to us freely, we have to accept it, choose to grab onto it, embrace it, hug it, and tell yourself "you're not doing half bad".  

I wanted to share some snippets of my last few days of being 25 with you....

My beautiful coworkers treated me to happy hour Friday afternoon.  Three words for our location:  Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.  

We went to C Level down at Harbor Island, they have an outside patio area, and the view is just spectacular (if only my camera decided to focus, wa wa waaaa).  

Saturday mornings are dubbed "study mornings" where I continue to type away on my thesis, get lost in articles, forget where I am.  Wait, that has never happened to you?  Well let me just tell you that it makes you feel a bit awkward.  All of a sudden you look up from your bubble and realize that you are in fact at Panera Bread. 

I cannot wait till Thursday!  We are getting our very first CSA box.  Can't wait to share the amazing finds we get!  My fingers are crossed that we actually get produce I know how to cook .

If I were to enter a contest for cutest niece, I think I would win.  I mean, not to brag or anything, but does your niece bring you a Little Mermaid balloon to dinner wearing the biggest smile ever?  Didn't think so.  We had a little dinner with close friends Saturday night at is was perfect.  Nice and simple, just what I like.  

This morning we stayed in our jammies for an extra hour, sipped our coffee, and just rested.  I need rest and thankfully the time change helped me get that rest.  It is a beautiful thing when the Mr. and I can just rest together, not have to rush off to work or another commitment. 

26, I'm ready for you!