Birthday!

I had a wonderful start to my 23rd year of life!

Besides the gloomy weather, Friday March 25th was a great day!  I only had two hours of class and then Meghan and I went to had sushi for lunch at Tani.  Once our bellys were nice and full we headed to get our nails done.  And then she surprised me with new a lulu lemon shirt which has already gotten plenty of wear!

Then I treated myself to a little cat nap...my first nap in a LONG time...and woke up to Sara!  We went to dinner with my parents at my new favorite restaurant, One 19 North, in Kirkwood where we had another great meal.  Then true to my style, Sara and I went back to watch a movie and I was asleep before midnight!  I could not have asked for a more perfect day!

My great friends and family spoiled me with some great gifts:

Sara knows my new love for cooking and quinoa so
she got me the perfect cookbook!
I have all ready attempted 3 recipes:
Sushi, Breakfast Bars and Quisotto!
LOVE it!

Beautiful flowers from Caitlin!

Matching summer pj's from Annie

A surprise kindle from my parents...
I can't wait to find some free time to read!

And a case to go with it!

And thanks to everyone for all the calls and messages - it really made my day!

"Bring it On Home"

I heard this song by Little Big Town on the radio the other day and just loved these lyrics:

"You got someone here wants to make it alright
Someone who loves you more than life right here
You got willing arms that'll hold you tight
A hand to lead you on through the night right here
I know your heart can get all tangle up inside
But don't keep it to yourself

When your long day is over
And you can barely drag your feet
The weight of the world is on your shoulders
I know what you need
Bring it on home to me"

I feel like these words summarize what friends and family are and I am so luck and thankful to have a great group of friends and a loving family!  Thanks for a great spring break.

T-Shirt Quilt

I have always had my favorite t-shirts that I wear over and over again.   There was one in particular that was from a soccer camp im 1998 that I wear the most.  The problem was I was only wearing my favorite shirt over and over again and I knew they wouldn't last.  So after my sister got a t-shirt quilt made I decided that was the perfect solution to making my t-shirts last!  I had so much fun picking out all the shirts I wanted to use...mostly sport shirts but a couple of field days shirts and even my kilt from Villa field hockey.  After I picked out  the 16 shirts I loved the most, I couldn't wait to see the final result.  I just got my quilt back and I am so happy with it!  I love all the color and mostly that my favorite shirts will last so much longer than if I was wearing them!

Birth

I witnessed my first birth on Wednesday in my Labor and Delivery clinical!  And I loved it...I had to turned away to stop myself from crying while I watched the first-time Mom and Dad hold their new son.  I loved playing a role during a personal time in people's lives.  The labor was full of ups and downs with the baby's heart rate dropping but I loved the fast pace nature and quick thinking to get the baby's heart rate back up.  I could really see myself in this nursing field in the future and I can't wait for my future Labor and Delivery clinical!

Stuffed Peppers

I am starting to enjoy this whole cooking thing!  Just call me Julia...

Last night I made stuffed peppers from a recipe Meghan gave me.  I stuffed the pepers with quinoa, ground turkey, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, and pine nuts.  I cooked them each wrapped in tin foil in the over for 45 minutes at 375.  After they were out, I topped them with marinara sauce.  My mom AND my dad even enjoyed them somewhat!  I am slowly getting better with my cooking skills.  My next endeavor is cheesy lasagna rolls!

"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be
happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by
fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of
achievement."

-- Golda Meir

Quinoa with Roasted Mushrooms

My mom just made this recipe I gave her for dinner tonight and we loved it!  Meghan introduced me to all the yummy recipes on Wholes Food's website and now I am addicted.  I have many more dinners I can't wait to try out.

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
1 small pear, peeled, cored and cut into chunks 
1 garlic clove, halved 
2 pounds portobello mushrooms, stemmed and gills scraped out 
1 cup red or white quinoa 
3 cups tightly packed spinach, chopped 
4 green onions, thinly sliced 
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted 
1/8 teaspoon sea salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 475°F. 

Put vinegar, mustard, pear and garlic in a blender with 1/3 cup water and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Cut mushrooms into chunks and combine in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup of the pear balsamic dressing. Spread mushrooms in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast mushrooms until tender, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. 

While mushrooms roast, prepare quinoa. In a medium pot, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Stir in quinoa, cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside, covered, 10 minutes more. Uncover and fluff quinoa with a fork. 

Combine mushrooms, quinoa, spinach, green onions, almonds, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup more pear balsamic dressing in a large, wide serving bowl. Stir to mix well. Serve with remaining dressing on the side. 

It was a nice change from the normal meat and potato dinner!