The Start of a New Year

Somehow we're already one month in to 2014.  Time is really flying!  I figured it would knowing how many things are going on at work and outside of work.  Speaking of work, I realized that I haven't shown off my new building that I am so happy and thankful to be working in! (I probably haven't shown it off because I didn't get anything hung on the walls until my dad visited and helped me out last week. Thanks Dad!)  I no longer work in the dungeon of a middle school!  Our district was able to build a new administration building that is big enough to house all of the departments.

We had a big ribbon cutting ceremony and open house

And the greatest thing is that I have a window!!!

 The other equally great thing is that I have my standing desk.  It has revolutionized my work life.  It allows me to move everything up and down so I can sit or stand while working.  Seriously, everyone with an office job should have one of these.  I don't know how I ever made it before; I feel so much better at work now.

My diplomas finally have a place to hang!

Another great feature of our building -
the hydration stations!  It even counts how
many plastic bottles we have saved :)

Life in education is never dull.  There's always too much work to do and not enough people or time to do it.  But I enjoy what I do and I don't get bored.  And having all administration in one building is making things much easier and more efficient.

The new year has brought the start of some new things and the end of others.  New thing: I'm going to try to take up sewing.  I got to visit Nikki a couple of weeks ago, and we got to have a "crafternoon" together.  We made these cute little clutches.

It was just enough to get me hooked and thinking that I should get a sewing machine and learn to sew. There are so many things I could make and so many options for cute gifts!  So amazingly at church the next day, I was showing off my new sewing product to a friend who sews, and she offered to sell me her sewing machine for a really good deal because she was just given a new one.  Talk about ask and you shall receive.  So hopefully I'll be able to update you with sewing projects that I have successfully completed in the near future.

The end of something: getting to watch and play with two of the cutest little twins ever!  They were in my 1s and 2s class at church and we discovered one day that they live right behind me.  Ever since then, I've had the opportunity to watch them when their parents need to do something and it gives me my kid fix.  But now they're moving away.  I'm going to miss them!  But I know that God has great plans for them somewhere else, so I can be happy for them in that.

Who wouldn't miss that cute face?

Yep, that's an orange sticker on his face
generously given to him by his bro

Up to no good in my purse :)

Of course random holidays have been celebrated...

And the new year has begun with lots of snow.  It seems like it just keeps coming.  I guess it really is winter now.

Beginning of January

End of January

If I'm looking for the positives of cold and snowy weather, it's great for big warm bowls of soup and hot cups of tea!

Happy New Year!  Make it a great one!

The Chocolate Adventure Contest 2014

For the second year in a row, I decided to enter into the Chocolate Adventure Contest.  This year's theme was bars.  It could be cookie bars, brownie bars, ice cream bars, granola bars, any kind of bar.  It just had to include Sharffenberger Chocolate and one of the 12 adventure ingredients.  This year's adventure ingredients included:

bourbon

turbinado sugar

pomegranate

hibiscus

extra virgin olive oil

peppercorn (any type, including black, white, green, red)

pandan leaf or pandan leaf extract

coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut butter or coconut oil

oat flour

carrot

black or white sesame seeds

fresh croutons or crostini

Sharffenberger Chocolate obviously knows what they're doing by holding this contest.  But it's a lot of fun so I go along with it.  Time got away from me a little bit more this year, so I only entered one recipe.  I was quite happy with it though, so I'm crossing my fingers that the judges will be fans also.

I decided to go with more of a chewy granola bar.  I named it... 

Tropical Oat Bar with Nibby Dark Chocolate Drizzle

It is super easy to throw together.  In addition to the adventure ingredients, it also includes one of my all time favorites...mango!  These bars are packed with energy and make a great snack any time.  I'll find out in April if I have developed a winning recipe.

I will also admit that I did attempt a second recipe.  It was inspired by a recipe I had seen in a cookbook, which was for cream-filled oat bars.  My idea was to adapt it and make "Put the Lime in the Coconut Cream Bars".  I substituted things to get more adventure ingredients in, thought I could make the cream filling with coconut cream instead of sweetened condensed milk, and made up a few other things.  The result...total failure!  I mean, the oat cookie bottom was soggy, the cream filling never set up, and the pretty little crumbles that were suppose to set on top sank into the gooey mess.  And that, my friends, is why I only submitted one recipe this year. ;)

Here's my good recipe in case you want to give it a try:

Tropical Oat Bars with Nibby Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Dry Ingredients:

1/3 cup oat flour

1 2/3 cup quick rolled oats

1/3 cup turbinado sugar

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp Sharffen Berger unsweetened natural cocoa powder

½ cup dried mango, diced

½ cup dried papaya, diced

½ dried cranberries

¼ cup ground flaxseed

1 medium carrot, grated

Wet Ingredients:

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup agave nectar

2 T. coconut milk

1/3 cup all natural creamy peanut butter

Dark Chocolate Drizzle:

3 oz. bar of Sharffen Berger Nibby Dark Chocolate with Roasted Cacao Nibs

3 oz coconut milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Prepare an 8x8 square pan by lining with parchment paper.  Allow two ends of the paper to hang over the sides to help you lift the bars out of the pan after cooking.  Spray the two bare sides with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine all ten dry ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, agave nectar, and coconut milk.  Pour over the dry ingredients.  Add the creamy peanut butter.  Stir all ingredients together with a spatula until well combined.

Press oat bar mixture into the prepared pan.  Use the back of the spatula or oiled hand to make sure the mixture fills the pan and is evenly spread.  Place in the oven to bake for 30-40 minutes.  The edges should start to brown and the middle should begin to turn golden.  The middle should be soft and give just a little to the touch.

When baked, let cool for at least 10 minutes.  Then lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper sling to transfer to a cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely before cutting, about 30 minutes.  (You can speed up the cooling by placing in the refrigerator.)

While bars are cooling, prepare the nibby dark chocolate drizzle.  Finely chop the Nibby Dark Chocolate bar and place in a heat proof bowl.  Place the coconut milk in a small saucepan.  Heat the coconut milk over medium-low heat.  When the coconut milk just starts to boil, remove from heat and pour over the finely chopped chocolate.  Allow it to sit for 1 minute to melt the chocolate.  After 1 minute, stir until smooth (except for the roasted cacao nibs).  By the time the bars are cooled, the chocolate sauce will thicken a bit to make a better drizzle.

Once the oat bars are cooled, use a large knife to cut the bars into rectangles.  I cut mine into 1 ½ by 2 ½ inch rectangles to make 15 bars.  Drizzle each bar with the nibby dark chocolate sauce.  Allow the chocolate to harden before serving.

Christmas 2013

It seems like as soon as Thanksgiving ends, Christmas celebrations immediately begin.  I love the opportunity to celebrate with so many people in so many different ways: work parties, church parties, ice skating and dinners with friends, and family gatherings.  It can often get a little crazy with all the hustle and bustle, but it's also full of joy as we celebrate together the greatest Gift ever given.

My celebrations started here in Colorado Springs.  I was invited to an event this year called Christmas Around the World.  A group of people got together and decided that they wanted to have a night where people of all nationalities across Colorado Springs could come together and share the unique ways that they celebrate Christmas.  I hosted a table which included people from Italy, Russia/Kazakhstan, and Hawaii.  Quite the mix.  It was a night full of different performances, meeting new people from every country you could imagine, and sharing a meal made up of a variety of cuisines.  And all of it was tied back to a fun telling of the 3 wise men following the star to meet Jesus.  The audio was the story while we watched a cartoonist draw it out on the screen.  I wish I had a copy of it to share with you.  The cartoonist also volunteered his skills that night to draw cartoons during the transition to the next performance.

Native American Hoop Dancing

Indian Dancing

Indian Light Dancing

Cartoon leading up to the hula dancing

Leading up to...

a battle between good and evil through Judo

Get ready for...

African Dancing

Russian Singing

Japanese Drumming

It's so neat to see so many different cultures.  There are so many amazing talents to share.  And it always gives me a little glimpse of heaven to see all the nations, tribes, and tongues gathered together.

This was the kickoff of my Christmas celebrations.  The next few weeks held many White Elephant gift exchanges, caroling, lots of giving, and way too many sweets.  Then it was off to Texas for me!

Still working for a school district is great!  The district decided to gift us an additional two days off, so the district was closed for the entire week of Christmas.  Then we also had two days off for New Year's.  That meant that I only had to use three vacation days to be able to enjoy a two week holiday just like I was still a teacher.  What a deal!

As usual, I brought the cold with me.  But I guess we shouldn't be shocked that it's cold in the winter.  At least this year it was only cold and not icy.  And I was just happy to be with my family for the holidays.  I actually got to celebrate with my dad's side of the family right away.  I flew in late Saturday night and then got to enjoy the Eastup Christmas Sunday afternoon.  What a great way to start the trip!

Christmas Eve in the Eastup house means homemade pizza!  Zach kindly picked up a bag of King Arthur's Perfect Pizza Blend flour for us.  It never fails to make the perfect pizza crust, and we couldn't possibly settle for less than the best for our Christmas Eve pizzas.  With the dough made and tossed, it was time to create!

It's quite a production.  No lack of toppings for sure!

Everyone has their own style and techniques.

Mom & Dad's ready for the oven

Mine & Zach's ready for the heat too

Zach and I could not possibly have different pizza creations.
It requires the great wall of yellow peppers to prevent the
two sides from mixing :)

Mom & Dad's looks delicious!

Ours does too!

The great wall held up.  Yay!

Even at our ages, Christmas morning is still the same as it has always been as well.  I knock on Zach's door just 5 minutes before our decided Christmas time.  We meet at the top of the stairs.  Mom and dad hear us and come with cameras.  I still wear the same Christmas pajama pants.

Merry Christmas!

Santa gifts are out to see immediately.  He always leaves them in the same place.  Zach's on the big couch; mine in the over-sized chair.  Stockings are next (my favorite part) and then we move to the tree.  Some traditions are just hard to change.

The aftermath

We have a little time to play with our new toys and then it's off to Grandma & Papa's!  It's always a good time with everyone together - eating TexMex, sharing stories of what's been going on since we're scattered all over the place, playing games, and and getting a piece of mom's bread pudding.

What a cutie!

Doing a great job of playing Santa

First Christmas as a married couple!

Kids make present opening way more fun!  He was so excited
about anything that came out of that bag, even if he had
no idea what it was ;)

Cousin time makes holidays even more exciting!

My mom's Christmas Bread Pudding
We only get this special treat once a year and we all
look forward to a warm slice drizzled with "the sauce"

Even though Christmas day itself was over, I definitely felt like the joy of Christmas just kept on going. Any night we were home, we played games together as a family.  One of our favorites continues to be Ticket to Ride Europe, along with rummy and speed Scrabble.  But this year we also added Settlers of Catan and Quiddler.  I got to spend time with great friends from college.  Candiss & Taylor treated me to a boba smoothie with mango popping boba!  They have been raving about it, so I was so excited to finally get to try it and it did not disappoint.  Boba is so fun to drink because you never know what's going to pop up the straw or when you're gong to get a little burst of mango.  We also got to enjoy programmed Christmas lights; the best of course being the Aggie War Hymn!  Then a trip to Temple gave me the chance to see several college friends at once!  I was blown away by how perfectly the timing worked out to see all of them.  Such a gift!

It was even Eileen's birthday!  Happy Birthday!

I wish we could do this more often :)

Is she not the cutest?

"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."  Luke 2:10-11

Now that's a reason to celebrate!  Merry Christmas!!!