Favorite Food Friday

Today's featured food favorite is actually a product I was first introduced to after I began work at the university farm store. These Multigran Chips from Food Should Taste Good are amazing!!The entire brand is actually wonderful; however, these chips take the cake for me! Each chip is sturdy and thick with great texture and unique visual appeal (gotta love the octagonal shape and the flax seeds!).

Not only is this chip packed with monounsaturated fat (4 g) and light on the saturated fat (1g), each serving offers 3 grams of fiber--details I know that you non-nutrition people probably were dying to know!

They make a delightful foundation for nachos and nicely accompany chili or soup. They even work well as a cracker replacement when you want something crunchy to go along side your afternoon snack of apples and cheese but are all out of crackers!

Many of the major grocery stores and food marts have them (bless me... even Starbucks carries some of their products!). Go HERE to find out a location near you that carries theses ymmies. Enjoy!

~Please note that this is not a paid advertisement sponsored by Food Should Taste Good !~

Seasonal Science...Fudge!

Tis the Season for goodies, sweets and holiday treats!  Along with sugar cookies and caramel corn, fudge is one the the traditional yummies that are commonly made around Christmas and New Years. 

If you need inspiration to get one last batch made or if you are simply curious about how it is made, check out this video that explains the science behind the fudge!  We actually watched this in our Experiemental Food Science class last year! Way cool!

Super Links

It almost pains me to have my first post after a 3 month hiatus be a simple blog link, but this link is just too fascinating not to share as soon as I found it! The blog is called Tip Junkie. Ultimately this blog is a go-to resource for all things homey and creative! In many ways it is a compilation of many people’s ideas. Some are links to other people's blog post while others are items that readers submit. This site contains everything from recipes to organizational methods to decorations and crafts.


Some of you Christmas Crafties might want to know about it in time to print some super cute and simple labels out for your packages. To find such items I suggest you utilize the search box by typing in "free pintables" and "gift tags" or “labels” Check it out... there is something for everyone!

Wednesday Writing Bits

I recently flew home from an delightful visit to my sweet Married-Sis who lives out of state, and while flying back home I made the following observations in my writing notebook. Admittedly, the paragraph sounds a bit morbid. It certainly was not meant to be so.  I suppose it was one of those moments where you just had to be there to catch the romance of the moment.   I wasn’t scared to fly and I was totally comfortable, so I don’t know what else I can I say about it other than scraps of weird thoughts hit me at weird moments in time.


"A wrinkled white hand, yellowed by the airplane’s cabin lights, extended itself upward, wandering it’s way along the buttons and knobs like the appendage of a ghostly soul in a lonely/futile search of a lost memory. Periodically, other such hands (some young, some almost as old as the first) restlessly wavered their way up from the grey-backed seats that linied the cabin like solemn rows of lonely grave stones."


Yeah kinda wierd but really, anyone who has flown anywhere knows how wierd it looks when, in the dim light of the cabin all you can see are peoples' hands waving mysteriously above their heads in search of the AC  twisty knob or the reading ligth push button.

Copyriht of Cathryn 2011

Picture of the Week

The Corn is in...

...let the BBQs begin!

Photo copyright of Cathryn 

Daddy's Day

As my life shifts ever-forward into the new experiences that college and work bring, a new appreciation and gratitude for God’s provision in the family that He has given me has almost overwhelmed me these last few days. I see the young women around me and the way they live their lives and I shudder to think what and who I would be if not for the faithful foundation that God started laying down in my life through the labors of my parents. There is no room for pride in the contrasts that I see between my life and theirs. I am keenly conscious that it is only God’ sovereign grace that stands between me and the series of small, “insignificant” compromises that would lead me to walk down the road I see so heavily traveled by my classmates and coworkers. It was the same grace that took my parents, both of whom came from broken homes and taught them how to raise a family that was/is whole.

Yesterday was my monthly “doughnut day” with dad (a ritual that has now turned into “oatmeal day”… yes, I now get oatmeal at Jamba juice instead of doughnuts at the local shop!). As I ate my oatmeal and Dad drank his Bali Blue Moon brew, he talked, listened and encouraged me. “We are walking this path together you know. I may be your dad but as fellow sojourner we walk this life side by side towards the same goal.” There were moments in our conversation when one or both of us began to get a wet sparkle around the eyes as we talked about how blessed we were. Such an openness and demonstrated love between family members is rarely seen, let alone in a father—daughter relationship.

Words can’t begin to describe how thankful I am for the father that God has given to me.

Thank you Dad, for helping me be the woman God has designed me to be by being the real man God has called you to be.

The Creative Spirit

It is 8:44pm. The laptop is set up with the text of my empty midterm outline blinking at me with size 12 pupils and double spaced whites …just staring dumbly at me. Well, not too dumbly I fear, for somehow I can sense an italicized scorn in its gaze. It somehow knows that creative words, anxious to make a genesis of new thoughts and expressions are gurgling inside me. They are pressing me to let them out. Somehow, my midterm and I both know that tonight, my disciplinary inner Academian spirit cannot say "no. "

There…just 96 words and I feel better already!

Sharing IN the Gospel

If you are like me, as you traverse your Christian circles you have no doubt heard the phrase “sharing the Gospel.” Over the last week or so, different events have caused me to have some new thoughts about sharing IN the Gospel. My contemplations began as I have had the opportunity to actively encourage another Christian gal on in my department about trusting God when it hurts and dealing with the anxiety of the unknown. In an email to her I wrote:

"… think about this... (it is something that brought me comfort and a fresh perspective today)...all of the prayers you have ever prayed about growing in the Lord are being worked out right now in all of this (the difficult situation).

My Pastor once said that all of the pressures pressing into us can be used to press God closer into the center of our heart and lives. No, God isn't done with you or me, Nickie…. praise Him!"

Later, in an email to my older sister I wrote:

"It has been amazing and yet funny for me to be the one to encourage her (Nickie) in God's word, to talk about God's faithfulness and to discuss what it is to renew your mind constantly, only to turn around and struggle to do the same in my own, unique situation. :) God is reminding me of what I myself need to hear. I am so glad that I can share the strength of the Gospel with others like Nickie while letting it uphold me to! :)"

Upheld by the power of the Gospel.

Yes, that is what I mean by sharing IN the gospel. It is being upheld IN and BY the Gospel’s strength while seeking to serve and minister to others.

In my journal I mulled over these thoughts more…

"Both Nickie and I need that same truth. In my own distinct and immediate weakness I can put my arm around her and let the staff of Gods truth uphold us both. I can offer her nothing other than that which God has given me. It comes not from me (as if I were the source) but I through me. And it must be a seamless passing. "

Perhaps you have burdens resting on you today. They can be either the burdens in your hands that you are helping to carry for others or they can be your own personal burdens that reside in your heart. Most likely, you have both. Be encouraged today to carry those burdens in the strength and power that the Gospel provides….the everlasting, resurrection strength that Ephesians joyously proclaims in chapter 1 verses 18b-20:

“ …that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at the right hand in the heavenly places…”

Let those burdens lift.

The Little Black Dress: Part 1

Like they say, every girl needs a little black dress... and I couldn't agree more! While on spring break back in March, Mom and I stopped by Goodwill and found this delightful little lacy black dress tucked away on the dress rack. Some friends recently invited my sister and I to a black-and-white themed English Country Dance event so lo and behold I had a wonderful excuse for trying the dress on and making the purchase when I found that it fit!+

It is nice to know a little about sewing for oneself and an added blessing to have a Mom who is rather clever/ proficient in the business herself. Mom kindly said she could make some alterations to my dress by first adding straps (I didn't want it strapless) and making a little petticoat to make the skirt "poof" out a smidgen.

The original dress

Stay tunned forthe end result of the alterations in an upcomming post

Spring Break!

 Yes indeed, it is that wonderful time for the college student...it is time for spring break! Last Wednesday at 11pm I submitted my last paper and wham...my 7 day break began! I am convinced that it is the difficult days in school that make these days so delightful. Mom and I have already been out for a special mommy-daughter-spending time-together-plus-a much-needed shopping day which was fun. We were quite successful, finding 9 or more tops for everyday wear plus a fun dancing dress for an upcoming event (check back on April 1st for more details).

In addition to the shopping trip, I started spending my time chewing away at the "to do" list of things that somehow don't get done during the school year. One such project involved replacing the much abused ink-blotting paper that protected my desk top. I have never changed it since my grandpa made the desk for me over 10 years ago. I've wanted a new one but simply hadn't found one that was thick enough or was the proper dimensions...that is until I stopped by Michael’s Craft Store and found this little "cutting/craft board" that you can cut on without fear of cutting through it. You can see the result below (unfortunately I don’t have a “before” picture, only the “after” one).

The board was a little too tall and a smidge not-wide-enough so I just cut the excess off of the top and hot glue gunned it on the side.  The ribbon was also glueded on to hide the overlapping seam. :) 

School...It begins Again!

2 months…that is how it has been since I last posted! What a shame it is too, since I have had ample opportunity due to my 3 week Christmas break. Oh well. I have been very happily employed, working the shifts that my coworkers could not whenever possible, cleaning and organizing my room (a much needed endeavor), catching up with friends, and reading.


In making the final preparations for my classes that begin on Monday, January 3rd, I have been sending out emails to various classmates, offering to buy a textbook here and trying to sell a workbook there. In one of my emails I described the inevitable excitement that I think every student feels at the start of a new school year/quarter/semester:

"I don't know about you but no matter how difficult the classes promise to be there always seems like there is a little happy sparkle of hope at the beginning of each quarter. It's like a fresh box of crayons... you just want to sniff it, to look at it and to run your finger across the tops of the perfectly pointed crayon tips. Sigh."

Perhaps the Christmas break has made me something of a nostalgic, romantic. Or maybe it is all of my Jane Austen reading (although she never did mention her heroines’ explicitly using crayons that I recall*smile*). But seriously now, I don’t think I am the only one that feels the “little happy sparkle of hope “ at the beginning of the quarter.

To all the students who start school tomorrow I wish you all the best. To all of you lucky students who don’t start until January 17th (or even you wretched people who don’t resume your studies until…dare I say it… February!) I pray you continue to enjoy your holiday!