New (School) Year's Resolutions!

Matthew 6:25-34 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I, like many people, often start each new year with a determination to really stick to my resolutions this year. However, after this passage, any of my former resolutions seem dim and unworthy. Seeking FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and fully trusting in His provision in such a way that daily worry is dissolved, should not only be my "new year's resolution" but my daily commitment! Completely trusting in God has always been one of my areas in need of improvement and I do tend to be a worry wart. But if we truly take Matthew 6 to heart and look around at the beauty He has put in the world for our unworthy eyes to see, then how can we ever worry that He will not provide for us, His chosen children?? Our God is so good.

With a new marriage and new job, I decided I would make some new (school) year's resolutions. I resolve to....start running! This aspiration was mainly brought on by my sweet husband, an avid runner, who insists I have the body type to be a runner. You mean my chicken legs?! I always thought those were perfectly suited for laying on the couch and eating chips...Anyways, I decided to pursue this by downloading "Couch to 5K" off of iTunes. This program takes you literally from the couch to running a 5k in just 9 weeks by building up your stamina gradually. I could have bought the version that allows you to listen to your own music between a voice that tells you what to do, but this version could not be supported by my teeny-tiny, clip-on, iPod nano. I'd have to run with my husband's ginormous iPod touch and I do not intend to lift weights in addition to pounding the pavement! Running is more than enough physical activity. So, being the cheapie I am, I downloaded the entire 9 weeks of podcasts for free! Which also means I have the pleasure of listening to an assortment of British alternative-ish music, instrumentals, and, better yet, techno. There is also a delightful British woman who speaks encouraging words in her monotone, unemotional voice just when I am most in need of that extra push! I have named her Clarisse and I am looking forward to our time spent together in the coming weeks...haha! It is quite handy to have someone to keep time for me since whenever I am on a treadmill, I swear I have run at least ten minutes, only to look down at the pathetic stopwatch showing a meager 1:35. So, my morning started off great and after my brisk 5-minute warmup walk I was off to begin the 60-second runs, alternated by 90-second recovery walks. At one point I wondered why I had chosen to wear such a long t-shirt, since my iPod continuously slapped my leg with each stride. Oh wait...my shirt is normal length...I've just sweated so much the cotton continues to stretch....delightful. And although I looked like fish flopping around on land or Phoebe in the Friends episode where she and Rachel decide to run together, it truly was not as bad as I anticipated, although I have a sneaky suspicion that Clarisse counts slowly during the running portion... All in all, day 1 was a success and I have to complete this same week 1 drill two more times before the week is up. Here's to you Clarisse! I'll see you in a couple days:)

In the spirit of beginning new things, we also started "The Love Dare" last night, a daily, year-long devotional for married couples, given as a wedding present by my sweet friend. I am really excited to see what God does in our lives together this year! Our weekly challenge is to pray, "Lord, show me what real love is and make me a loving person". I have a feeling this prayer will become one of my "devoted prayers" this year, especially as I begin my job teaching 3-year-olds!! I believe (no, I expect!) there will be a great increase of patience and love this year....

Finally, a last aspiration of ours is to make our way through Mad Men in a record number of days. As I mentioned earlier, we finished an entire season in about a day and a half. We are now through seasons 1 and 2 and are into the third. I am not even going to divulge how many days it's been....it's too embarrassing...but we have resolved to enjoy our time together before my job starts and his last school year begins as well!

I thought I'd leave with you two delicious pasta recipes from my cookbook, "The 12 Days of Christmas". My mom got this for me last year and it is the cutest cookbook ever (some sections are 'Six Cookies a-Cooling' and 'Twelve Soups a-Simmering'). I found I use this all year-round, not just at Christmas time!

Mainstay Macaroni Casserole

This is truly gourmet mac-n-cheese and can be a meal all in itself, or as a side! Plus it takes no time at all. Take that Kraft!

4 Tbsp. butter

4 Tbsp. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper 

(I usually do the same amount as salt, I'm more of a pepper girl!)

2 cups milk

3/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

1. In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat. Stir flour into butter until smooth and bubbly.

2. Stir in salt and pepper. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly.

3. Continue to cook and stir until thickened.

4. Add cheese, stirring until melted.

5. Alternate layers of cheese sauce and cooked macaroni in 8x10 inch baking dish.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Seriously, SO good! And I like to add some Italian seasoning to the top of mine, just to make it even better!

Fettuccini Alfredo

I had no idea it would be so easy to make your own Alfredo sauce...although it's best to forget you know what the ingredients are while enjoying the dish:)

6 ounces fettuccini, uncooked

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped (optional...I just used dried parsley)

1. Cook fettuccini according to package directions; drain and set aside on serving dish.

2. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Gradually stir in cheese, then add whipping cream, stirring until well blended.

3. Continue heating sauce, stirring constantly, just to boiling point. Remove from heat and stir in parsley if desired.

4. Pour sauce over noodles, and serve.

Delish!