Earning Christmas Break

I only have one more day of classes this semester! At first, having two weeks of class after Thanksgiving seemed like a huge bummer. Then, all of my classes did “special interest” units for the last week and it became really exciting! We did sign language typology in Patterns and atypical language acquisition in…language acquisition. Now I am starting my final exams! Today’s topic is researching the use of technology in speech therapy. I found this case to be very interesting.

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I were talking about how you really have to earn Christmas break. It’ll be great, but it’ll only be great after you finish your work. Until then, Colonial Williamsburg will tease you with many Christmas events and endless decorations and cheer. Bah humbug.

Grand Illumination kicked of the Christmas season in Colonial Williamsburg!

But in reality, I am focusing on school for now and the Christmas season in eleven days. But who’s counting?

Proverbs 23:12 ~ Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

THEN...

Luke 2:10 ~ But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people!”

Thanksgiving is (almost) here!

I am finally home for Thanksgiving break! The past few weeks have been quite eventful. I ran the Richmond Half Marathon with my roommate Sophie and friend Ryan two weeks ago. My mom came to stay with us! It was a beautiful day to run and I was so glad I got to spend more time with Sophie! Andrew came up to see the end of the race, too!

Andrew came to see me!

Roomies at the end of the race!

Mom found us at the end!

Last weekend I went to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association’s annual conference in Atlanta and stayed with Mom and her friend Debbie! My professor did a talk about language variation and speech pathology and I helped her prepare for the session. I was very excited to go because I got to go to a lot of sessions, go through the exhibit hall, and talk to grad schools!

We ate at "Pitty Pat's Porch" for some
good Southern food!

This is in the lobby of the
Georgia World Congress Center,
where the ASHA convention was held.

SO excited to be at the
Norfolk airport at 8am!

I am very thankful for all of the opportunities I have had in the past few weeks to travel and do participate in fun events! Going on trips is really exciting, but it caught up with me when I had to switch back to reality when I got home! It has helped me to remember Colossians 3:17 when I am anxious about getting my work done. It says: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Just a simple reminder that everything we do is for the Lord! 

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was on a Wednesday this year, so we celebrated tonight! Four sophomore girls who live together (the “A Quad”…all names starting with A!) had a “Happy ‘Alloween” party! It was really fun to dress up and hang out with everyone. Plus, Laura made warm s’mores or some kind of cute-sy name for these graham cracker/cookie/marshmallow combination.

November just started, so the countdowns to the end of the semester are beginning! Up next? Half marathon in a week, speech therapy conference in Atlanta in two weeks, Thanksgiving, Maureen’s wedding, classes ending, finals, and Christmas break! Needless to say, I’m getting excited. J Should be a good month.

Kelly and I!

I was a pumpkin, Laura was a fairy earlier in the evening...

Hipster super(wo)man, Instagram, Fairy, and Pumpkin!

House girls!

    

A quick update on fall break...in pictures!

As we sit inside drinking a lot of coffee and eating a lot of peanut butter and banana sandwiches, I thought I'd post a few pictures of fall break. It was a few weeks ago, but I've been busy and haven't put any pictures up!

Cousins in boots!

Grandparents!

Granddaughters!

Early morning running at Bass Lake!

 

It was a great trip and I'm glad we got to go to North Carolina! We also stopped in to see Michelle on Friday and we saw Liz and Tim on Saturday (Sadly, no pictures). We saw a Gungor concert on Friday night and went to a concert in downtown Blowing Rock on Saturday night!

William and Mary, Loved of Old...

Homecoming Parade--JJ took our picture!

Well, the weather has taken a turn for the worse. The fall’s alleged “Frankenstorm” has canceled classes and evacuated cities up and down the east coast! Luckily, we were able to celebrate William and Mary’s homecoming without too much trouble this Saturday. It was really fun to see all of the alumni come back and see their friends! I went to the parade with Emilie and Ryan on Friday and went to the APO tailgate with Kelly and Bailey on Saturday before the football game. 

APO Tailgate!

Girls at the game!

Roomies at the game!

SUCH a sporty pic.

Laura and I took a new “football picture” because our first picture together (ever!) was at a football game freshman year. It’s hard to believe I’ve known most of my friends at school for over two years now! Hopefully we’ll all be coming back here in 25 years to spend time with our friends. Hark upon the gale!

Recipe for the week!

Today I tried a new recipe! Andrew and I had dinner and I made "Broccoli Stuffed Chicken Breast." Earlier in the week, I looked up "healthy chicken recipes" and I'm not sure it was exactly "healthy," but it tasted great! You should make it this week! I made it with couscous and extra broccoli on the side. We also had specialty "all-natural" soda...mine was Pomegranate Ginger and Andrew's had some kind of pineapple flavor in it!

BROCCOLI-STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

3/4 c. seasoned dried bread crumbs 1 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese Dash each poultry seasoning, salt and pepper 1 egg, beaten 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. butter, melted and cooled 4 skinned and boned chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch (or chicken cutlets already flattened) 2 oz. Swiss or Provolone cheese 1/2 c. cooked chopped broccoli Spray a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.On a sheet of wax paper combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and seasonings; set aside. In a small bowl, using a fork, combine egg and butter, mixing well. Preheat oven to 375°F. Dip 1 chicken breast into egg mixture, then into crumb mixture coating both sides evenly; repeat procedure with remaining breasts being sure to use all of egg and crumb mixtures. On each breast, arrange 1/2 ounce Swiss (or Provolone) cheese, then spoon 2 tablespoons broccoli onto each portion of breast, near 1 end and roll to enclose filling. Arrange breasts seam side down in prepared baking pan and bake until chicken is tender, about 40 minutes. Serves 4.

**I used Swiss cheese, not Provolone!

Autumn in Williamsburg!

It smells like fall. Emilie and I ate dinner on the front step yesterday night and it was beautiful. Williamsburg in the fall is a really picturesque place! So, to complete the “autumn” picture, I cooked apples and lit a pumpkin candle while Andrew and I studied last night. It was wonderful! It's one of those weeks where I really want to go to Colonial Williamsburg and walk around!

If only I liked pumpkin spice lattes...

…recipe for apples, you wonder? (Cut apple, put brown sugar and cinnamon all over them, microwave for 2 minutes. Pretty extravagant!)

From Concerts to Competition

This week’s highlights included the Needtobreathe concert at the Norva in Norfolk and the Chapel’s Wiffle Ball World Series.

The Norva was a cool place. It’s really too bad the only pictures I have from the event were taken in the car or are blurry because we were walking. And Needtobreathe turned out to be great! I had only heard a few of their songs, but the concert was awesome. Parachute opened for them and they were great too. And, as most great nights do, the whole evening ended with Waffle House. We went to the concert with friends from Williamsburg—it was great to spend more time with them!

The next day we all woke up and went to the Wiffle Ball World Series! Just a disclaimer: this is not actually a world-wide event. I was actually asked that last week. It’s for my church. Every small group picks a team name and makes outfits, then competes in a wiffle ball tournament.

My girls decided to be the “Freshmen Fairies” but made a play on words and half of the girls were “fairies” and half were “ferries.” The fairies wore wings and the ferries wore cardboard boats and sailor hats. Our shirts said the definitions of both words and it was a really cute idea. Turns out, some people haven’t merged the vowel in the words “fairy” and “ferry,” so the two words are different to them! So crazy! Linguistics humor will never get old… Andrew’s team was the ‘Burg Tropics again this year. I think this picture pretty much sums up our enthusiasm for youth ministry.  Disclaimer: taken at the end of the day. 

Top 5 for the Week!

This week, I have decided to do a “top 5” things about the past few weeks. I’m not even sure if they’re the “best” five things, but they happened and they were pretty great.

1.     Small group: Tonight was the first official small group of the year! It was great to reconnect with a lot of my small group girls—who are now in high school! I lead a bible study at my church in Williamsburg and I love getting to know the girls and learning about their lives. There is another girl from William and Mary leading with me this year— her name is Amanda and she is great! I am excited to lead with her. Yesterday we made costumes for next week’s wiffle ball tournament! 

2.     William and Mary: School is fully underway. I got accepted to the School of Education so I will be double majoring in Linguistics and Elementary Education. All of my ed school classes will start in the spring…I will even get an assignment and go to an elementary school. I am so excited! I also got my independent study approved, so I will be researching technology and speech therapy this semester. Should be very interesting—I’ve found a ton of information already and I’ve only been working on this for a week!

3.     Running: I started training for the Richmond Half Marathon, which is November 10^th! I am excited. And—a lot of my friends are doing the race this year!

4.     Food: I cooked for the week tonight. I’m pretty pumped…there’s spicy chicken, Greek pasta, and Italian chicken for the week. I usually do my cooking on Sundays and then eat from Tupperware during the week. People ask me if it gets old eating “leftovers” all the time, but they don’t feel like leftovers if I make all the food at the same time and just pack it up! I also made chile rellenos and fiesta chicken for date night—it was quite delicious.

5.     House: I am loving living in Williamsburg this fall! I’m still getting into the swing of school and work, but I have really enjoyed living with my roommates and spending time at home this semester. We had the great bonding experience of killing a cockroach in our shower tonight…GROSS. ((also, Mom, Dad and John came down for one of John's showcases last weekend--it was a great excuse for them to come to my house!))

I am planning on doing a more specific blog post later this week. This ended up being slightly more scattered than anticipated...........

Back to School!

The past week has been a blur! I started the week by driving home from Charleston with Andrew and now I’m in Williamsburg starting off the semester. Despite the craziness of the first week of school, I have felt an overwhelming peace about this semester. I am hoping that this sticks for the next four months or so! This is not to say that I am totally stress-free, but I have felt much more comfortable with the start of this year.

I think this is coming from being in the Word, listening to good music, and spending time with my friends. In March, Andrew suggested that we do the “One Year Bible” plan together. Reading His Word daily has really helped me to focus my thoughts throughout the day. Also, I’ve been listening to “Perfect Peace” by Laura Story (kind of on repeat haha). It’s a beautiful song and it helps me out whenever I’m worried or anxious. Check it out! I am also really thankful for the friends God has given me this semester. It has been awesome to spend time with my roommates and the people I have come to know over my past two years in Williamsburg. I’m very excited for the year!

Diving Dolphins of Divinity (you will only get this joke if you follow the link, and even then, you might not get it)

I love “Stuff Christians Like.” I have it on audio book and it’s my favorite thing to run to. As I was walking along the beach the other day, I thought about this story, from the Stuff Christians Like blog. Basically (in case you don’t feel like reading it, which I think is a mistake because it’s pretty funny…), the author talks about how you go to some place that is beautiful and expect to have a “God sighting.” Ladies and gentlemen, sometimes that doesn’t happen. Sometimes when you expect to see God in something extraordinary, He shows up in the everyday.

There’s two sides to this, in terms of my week at the beach. In the “everyday,” I feel like God has really showed up in terms of allowing me a distraction-free week to spend time with my family and Andrew. It’s been great to enjoy their company and spend hours upon hours walking on the beach or sitting on the porch. I don’t get to spend much time with them, so I have considered this to be a huge blessing.

Family Dolphin Watching! 

Photo Credit: Andrew Mills!

On the other hand, I got to see God’s handiwork in something that I consider to be pretty extraordinary (despite its daily occurrence on Seabrook Island). I got to witness dolphins “strand-feeding” multiple times this week. According to the research I’ve done, this occurs for 100 miles of coast near South Carolina and Georgia and in Mexico and Portugal occasionally. It’s a learned behavior where a group of four (or so) dolphins corral fish onto the shore, then beach themselves to eat the fish. It was fascinating, and if you want to see a pretty low quality video, I’ll post it below. My future in cinematography is fading quickly. However, if you want to see something sweet, look at the second video. It’s a tiny dolphin jumping. Like I said, God’s creation is awesome.

Reunited

Reunions are always fun. Lucky for me, the past week has been full of them! On Thursday, my friend Christy came to my house. We haven’t seen each other since Christmas break, so we had a lot of catching up to do! We had a fun weekend—full of coffee, yummy food, outdoor music, exercising, and a trip to DC. Christy spent last semester at Oxford and then went home to Zambia for the summer, so we both had a lot of stories to share. I don’t think I’ve talked that much for that long—ever. If you want to read about her spring semester, check out Highlights from Headington Hill (just making the blogging world a little smaller, ha!). I am so thankful that Christy got to visit me at home—I am excited for her to come back to William and Mary for the fall semester. We’ll work through our Starbucks cards from the summer, that’s for sure.  :)

Classic car pic.

World War II Memorial - one of many monuments from the visit!

On Saturday, I went to a different reunion. The DeFazio family reunion was in Maryland. It was a great day full of crabs, talking with relatives, and playing with the newest additions to the family—Liz and Tim’s kids! Watching the kids look at the live crabs was a riot. One of the kids said, “Are we really going to kill them?!” The other replied, “Yes, of course! We’re going to hit them with hammers. It’s just like Whack a Mole!” It’s great to see siblings share their knowledge of the ways of the world with each other.

It was wonderful to see all of the Showalters and the other DeFazio extended family. Spending time with my grandparents has been a lot of fun too! I have loved talking over coffee, going on walks with Gram, and reading with Pap! Gram loves the beach and I am so happy that we all get to spend time together.

Such a large group!

Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry

I’m one of those girls that takes a lot of pictures. (Most frequently of the food I make or eat!) So, today I thought I’d share my most recent recipe. Andrew and I had it after the conference and it was delicious! It did not take very long to make, but part of that might have been because most of my veggies were already cut up. I added red and green peppers, but didn't have any broccoli. Anyways, take the time to make it—it’s a great meal!

PINEAPPLE - CHICKEN STIR - FRY

1/4 c. soy sauce 2 tbsp. cornstarch 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 4 chicken breast halves, skinned, boned & cut into 1" pieces 1 garlic clove, minced 1 (20 oz.) can unsweetened pineapple chunks, undrained 1 lb. fresh broccoli, cut into flowerets 1 lg. carrot, sliced 1 med. onion, sliced & separated into rings Hot cooked rice Combine first 3 ingredients. Pour oil around preheated wok or skillet. Heat at medium high (325 degrees) for 1 minute. Add chicken and garlic; stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add pineapple and vegetables. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add soy sauce mixture and stir fry until sauce bubbles and thickens. Serve over hot cooked rice. Yield 4-6 servings.

From…cooks.com

Fresh Commitment!

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the Global Leadership Summit, hosted by the Willow Creek Association. There were many fascinating speakers who presented on leadership strategies in four areas: faith, academics, business, and politics. Hearing from speakers such as Condoleezza Rice, Bill Hybels, John Ortberg, and Geoffrey Canada was a great way to start the fall semester. Since I am not a member of a church staff or a major leader in the business world, I spent part of the first morning wondering why I was even there. I prayed for an answer and tried to apply what I was learning from each speaker to the leadership positions that I currently hold, even if they are not large-scale positions. I enjoyed the conference more once I stopped worrying about whether or not I needed to be there.

At the end of the second day, they presented us with a prayer to help focus our leadership efforts in the fall. It says: “God, this is a new day. I freshly commit myself to the role you have invited me to play, as you are building your church in this world. I am awestruck again today that you include me in this life-giving, world-transforming endeavor…” At one point during the talks, someone mentioned that the most important thing you can offer is not only your time, but your energy and enthusiasm. So, I am praying for renewed enthusiasm for my activities for the fall. Sometimes day-to-day life can get overwhelming, but I want to be able to fully commit myself to my activities and hopefully make a difference (no matter how small) in somebody’s life this semester. I am so thankful that I had the chance to go to the conference this summer!

Colossians 1:9-14 ~ 

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Finish Line

Growing up, August was full of “lasts.” Last vacations, finishing up the last summer reading assignments, and last days at the pool. This year, August was quite the opposite. The beginning of August meant the END of classes and the END of work for me! This year, I am looking forward to August as a time of relaxation, not counting down “lasts.” This summer was great, but I am excited for the few weeks of relaxing vacations. From June to August, I worked at a speech therapy camp for preschoolers. The first camp was two to four year olds and the second group was four to six year olds. Starting in May, I took anatomy for speech and introduction to communication disorders. I learned a lot and have a few books on my August reading list! I’m going to read The Out of Sync Child as a research book, then move onto some fun fiction books. I’ve started to read Divergent… suggestions for my time off? :)

"Reading" Glasses

My roommate Emilie and I have a mutual understanding that reading glasses=study mode. We’re both unsure of the actual optical benefits (if that even makes sense) of our glasses, but they’re both prescription. A small prescription (on my end at least, not sure what Emilie’s vision is!), but “real glasses,” nevertheless.

Well, tonight I put on my glasses for the first time all summer. It’s not that I haven’t been studying. I’ve been taking two online classes since May. But they were in my backpack from school and I kind of forgot about them because I wasn’t staring at computer screens, like I do when I’m away at school (and my eyes didn’t hurt). I made flashcards and listened to the lectures, so I guess I didn’t feel the need to wear the glasses.

But for the next few days, I mean business. I’ve got about a semester’s worth (actually, legitimately a whole semester’s worth) of material to cover in about two days—including the last day of my work as a camp intern for speech therapy.

Since my glasses help me to study at school, I thought I would need them all summer. Turns out, I can focus without my glasses on. My classes have been going fine, and I think the summer semester will turn out okay. At the beginning of the week, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. I had two finals and a unit test to complete in five days and I didn’t think I was going to come out of it with passing scores. As it turns out, I am already done with two of the tests—one to go! And much more time than anticipated to study for it. Nerdy as that sounds, it is great news.

Now back to the books...then, putting the glasses away until August 29^th when junior year begins!

An exciting weekend :)

This past weekend was full of exciting events and surprises!

On Wednesday, Michelle and Chris came into town to celebrate Michelle’s birthday in DC! We ate a lot of food, drank a lot of Diet Coke, and talked…a lot. I spent most of the weekend studying for finals and working at a speech therapy camp, while Michelle and Chris toured law schools in and around DC and…got engaged! I am SO excited for them---I have really seen God working in their lives and they both serve as an excellent example of Christ’s love. I can’t wait to see what He has in store for them!

The next surprise included driving to the Dulles Airport to pick up Mom in the middle of the night—she was teaching a class in Aurora, Colorado (a site that has recently been very popular [for unfortunate reasons] in the news). Luckily, the Olympic opening ceremonies lasted almost until she needed to be picked up!

The final surprise of the weekend was singing in the “reunion-style” youth choir. We sang ‘God is Working.’ It was great to see everyone and sing at church like we all used to!

Here’s a great clip of the song performed by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir…it’s a pretty traditional song, ha! (starts about 2 minutes in)

On Food.

Last summer I put together a list of foods I knew how to cook. It included pasta and broiled chicken (Not even a rub, just garlic and paprika)—and garlic bread. Nothing very extravagant. During the first date night of the year, I’m sure Andrew was thinking, “Awesome, she’s off the meal plan and all we’re going to eat together this year are carbs, carbs, carbs.” Early in the fall, however, we decided to do weekly date nights and my house decided to do weekly house dinners. Andrew and I did not usually have much time together for meals and talking during the school week, so Friday nights were wonderful breaks from school and work. Weekly date night meant a weekly culinary experiment.

As a result, I can cook! I’m not exactly a culinary genius, but I have grown to love making food (as opposed to just eating it). I experimented with different varieties of food, from chicken parmesan to chicken sezchuan to homemade fajitas. I do not eat beef or pork, which limits my cooking. Over the last year, I’ve realized that I love to cook. I’m not great at baking, it’s much too exact. With cooking, you can just add a little more salt or a little more sauce and the food will taste good. Baking is a mystery. If you mess up one ingredient, your cookies will not rise or they will spread out and make one big cookie. It’s high stress. I live with a group of girls I know from college, and for our dessert party I made boxed lemon bars and a frozen peanut butter pie. Not one, but two no brainers!

This summer I am reading “Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way” by Shauna Niequist. It’s a series of short stories, one of which was about cooking for her friends. She says, “sometimes the most spiritual things we do are the most physical, the most tactile. Feeding people is one of those things, whether we’re helping to feed hungry people, or feeding the hunger in each one of us on these dark and heavy [summer] nights” (p. 74). Weekly date nights and dinners with my housemates have made me realize that I love to make food for people. I love knowing how to do something that will bring people together. I love preparations and even though I’m always nervous that there won’t be enough food-- it never matters because by the time you get to the table, the food’s already made! The food may have brought everyone together, but all that’s left is the fellowship.

…so there’s my 2012 blog post for the summer.