New baby

My friend, and fellow RD, Rachel had her baby on Thanksgiving morning. I received a text at 6:30 AM with the good news. Quite possibly one of the only conditions that waking me from a deep sleep with a text message is acceptable! :) Little Connor Samuel Gerber was born at 2:29 Am - weighing 8 lb, 9 oz and measuring 21 inches long. I walked over to the hospital after dinner to visit the happy little family. Rachel looked amazing! She had showered, done her hair, and even was wearing a dress...such an impressive woman! :) And while a 8 1/2 lb baby is not small, he sure felt tiny as I cuddled him in my arms. Here's a photo of the proud parents with their new little one.

Rachel and Shawn Gerber with baby Connor

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving was different this year. Typically either my mom or I host Thanksgiving dinner. It's a full spread and a fairly large group of people end up at the table. Last year there were just 4 of us, so at that meal my brother Mike said that he'd take us all out the next year so that we didn't have to go through all that work for such a small amount of people. As it ended up Mom is out of town with family in Kentucky right now, so once again there were only 4 of us - Mike, my brother - Johnny (who had down's syndrome) and my nephew Jake. So Mike made good on his offer and took us out for Thanksgiving lunch. We went to the River Inn in Bristol, IN and had a delicious meal! The food maybe wasn't quite as good as what I would've made, but the fact that there was no prep or CLEAN UP made up for any taste difference! Plus this was the first time I had ever been to a sit down restaurant with my brother Johnny and he was SO well behaved! It was a nice way to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Mike and Johnny

Me and Jake

Making blankets

My RA staff and I made fleece blankets last night. We bought the fabric weeks ago, but have had some issues finding a couple hours where we were all available to get together and assemble the blankets. It took about 2 hours to cut and tie the blankets. It was fun to visit while we all worked them. Some made their to give as gifts, but I decided to make mine for ME! It's a beautiful blue on one side and has a pretty snowflake pattern on the other! I love it!

Top side

Bottom side

Finished product...so cozy!

More cooking!

One of my co-workers is pregnant and due any day. I love to do meals for family's after they have babies, but I know that her church is pretty good about that and her mom will be here for a couple weeks after the baby comes, so the immediate need for meals is slim. I decided to still do meals, but to make freezer meals, that way she can decide when she want to use them - maybe her mom will want to use them while she's here to give her more time to hold the baby or maybe she'll want to wait and use them all once her mom goes home. Whatever - it's up to her!

I decided to make this endeavor a community building activity and learning experience for my RA staff. Some of them are not very experienced at cooking, so this would be a good way to get them in the kitchen with a little supervision and guidance from me. Also, it would build our RA team community as we work at doing something good for someone else.

We made 6 freezer meals: lasagna, mexican lasagna, chicken & potato curry, hearty minestrone soup, cheesy chicken & broccoli rice casserole, and a chicken honey nut asian dish. So tasty and so fun!

Ashley cooking up some chicken.

Jewels cutting the casing off a sausage.

Josh mixing up some lasagna filling.

Homemade doughnuts!

Thursday evening after I got home from home group I had a fun activity with my gals from Miller 3rd. We made homemade doughnuts...well, what I would call cheater doughnuts, but homemade doughnuts none the less!

Here is me in my apron welcoming the gals to my apartment with my BIG mouth wide open! :)

We poked holes in refrigerator biscuits.

We fried the biscuits in oil, covered them in powdered sugar or a cinnamon & sugar mixture...

And voila....we have homemade doughnuts! :)

Connector Night Life - November!

Last night was Connector Night Life for this month. We had a smaller than before crowd, but the group that came seemed to have a really good time! We did lots of things...

We made ornaments for our Christmas tree that we'll put up in the Connector after Thanksgiving.
We had a bonfire outside.
We had a corn hole tournament.
We had live music in the Java Junction.
We watched a movie upstairs.

Here are some photos from the night...

Andrea, Sarah, and Cody

Allison & Ben playing Corn Hole

A view of the paper chain and snowflake making table from above.

People enjoying the bonfire on a COLD night!

Lovely ladies decorating ornaments.

Wednesday evening the gals from Kratz 1st came down for a floor activity at my place. We started with a simple supper of soup, bread, and cheese. It was fun to gather around the table and share stories about the day while enjoying something warm and cozy on a blustery winter day.

After we ate we started the activity part of the evening...we cooked Christmas goodies! We made 7 different treats:
Peppermint Bark
Rice Krispie Treats
Buckeyes
Molded Chocolates
Caramel Corn
Chocolate Dipped Pretzels
Sweet & Spicy Nuts

One of our sampler plates

We had 14 gals down here , so each one found a partner and took a different treat. I spent the time offering my "expert" advice, getting measuring cups and other utensils out, and washing dishes as we went. It was such a fun evening! We cooked together for about 2 hours. The amount of food we made was impressive. I made a plate for each gal to either eat herself or share with friends. The food that was leftover was mine to share with others. I took the chocolate covered pretzels to my friends in ITS Media, made a platter of goodies to take to home group tonight, and ate the rest of the caramel corn myself! :)

Hannah, Rebecca, Krista, and Kelly pouring the caramel over the popcorn

I enjoyed seeing the gals try their hands at some cooking things that they had never done. I think some were impressed that they could accomplish what they attempted! I love cooking and to see others enjoy it brings a smile to my face! I also appreciated getting to know some of these women better. I see them and know their names, but had a bit more conversation with some of them than I normally do - that was fun!

Audrey, Annalisa, and Elizabeth..I think they were working on the rice krispie treats.

When I was dropping off the plates of goodies I got a lot of positive feedback...lots of thank yous, gals telling me I'm the best RD ever, and some of them even asked if they could give me a hug. Words of affirmation are my main love language, so leaving the floor I felt filled up in my heart. :)

First snow

Monday produced our first real snow of the season. It was an absolutely gorgeous night! Many students were outside playing in it - acting like kids - which they are at heart! I happened to be up late that night and took some photos from my apartment after the students had gone to bed. I took them through the window without the flash and I think they give the campus a soft glow.

A baby shower and a floor activity

Tuesday we had a surprise shower for Rachel, the Apartment Manager. She is due on the 26th with her second child and the Res Life female staffers really wanted to celebrate with her! The girls collected money to buy a couple of cute outfits and then Launa and I made some snacks. Launa scheduled a bogus meeting for the RD team and when Rachel showed up she was completely surprised! It was a fun little gathering! :)

Launa - my boss- and Kelly - one of my RAs - pose by our little party table.

Rachel checking out one of the cute new baby outfits.

Later that evening the gals from Kratz 2nd came down for dessert. They had been on a progressive dinner and ended their evening of fine dining at my place. I made 2 different cheesecakes. One was a white chocolate and raspberry bar type and the other was an apple pie cheesecake that had a gingersnap crust. Both were quite yummy!

Apple Pie Cheesecake

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake!

Another birthday!

Sunday evening we celebrated another RA birthday! This time it was Bryce's birthday. He turns 22 on Friday. He's a wonderful young man. This is his second year on my staff and I have grown to appreciate many things about him. He's been a good leader on his floor and on our team this year.

Here's a photo of the team at Bryce's birthday dinner...

I think this group is top notch!
Ashley, Julie, Jenna, Kelly, Bryce, Jon, and Josh

A day with Haly

On Saturday I spent the day shopping with my friend Haly. She is a former RA of mine that has become a very dear friend. She is getting married in July, so we went to look at wedding gowns. We didn't find "the dress" but we did find one that WASN'T the dress! She's looking for a strapless dress and we found a strapless one that has a coat with it. While the dress itself as OK, with the coat it was absolutely HORRID! It was fun to hep her look and to share a bit of this fun experience with her. After shopping we had a lunch at Chipotle and then went to Barnes & Noble where I bought a present for someone and we looked around a bit. And before we headed home we stopped at the new Sonic in Mishawaka and enjoyed a refreshing Cherry Limeade...YUMMM!

The lovely Haly in the hideous coat dress!

Me n Haly at Chipotle...home of AMAZING burritos!

A table full of memories and meaning

As I looked at the photo from my post yesterday I noticed that almost every item on my table held some sort of significant meaning or memory for me...

Drinking glasses - bought a trip to Ikea in Shaumburg with my girlfriends
Dinner plates - part of what I purchased with gift cards from my 30th birthday
Silverware - hand me downs from my brother Jack
Salt & Pepper shaker - bought at Trader Joe's in St. Louis with Jenelle
Glass pitcher - a thank you from Kassidy's parents for catering her wedding
Yellow & blue bowl - a gift from Cara
Glass salad bowl - a hand me down from Mom's table
Applesauce bowl - a hand me down from my Great Aunt Clara
Green bowl - a hand me down from my maternal Grandmother
Blue bowl - a gift from the Housholder family

It's like those who love me are there with me as I entertain friends and students around my table. They are helping me live out God's call on my life in a manner that is true to who He created me to be. I think it will be a long time before I can sit down at my table for a meal without remembering the significance of the items on the table.

A homecooked dinner

Today I was in the mood to cook.

To cook a healthy and hearty meal.

To cook a healthy and hearty meal and to serve it in a cozy manner.

I wandered the aisles of Wal Mart looking at the produce and meat until I could decide on a menu. I was inspired by the fresh zucchini and yellow squash and the sale on chicken breasts. I made a baked chicken with a balsamic marinade that I concocted. I broiled some zucchini, yellow squash, onions, and peppers with basil infused olive oil and parsley flakes. I made whole wheat linguine. The salad consisted of red leaf lettuce, feta cheese, dried cranberries, and walnuts. I bought a nice whole wheat french bread which I sliced up and served with butter. And, like almost EVERY meal at my house, there was applesauce! For dessert I made cheater apple dumplings - which is where rather than making the actual dumpling dough you just wrap the peeled and cored apples in a refrigerator biscuit. The meal was delicious, healthy and hearty. I decided that I didn't want to turn on the glaring florescent lights that are in my apartment, so I got out some candles and we ate by the light from the lamps in the Living Room and the candles on the table.

A group of five women from one of my residence halls came down for dinner. They were a group that really appreciated the ambiance, flavors, and healthful aspect of the meal. It was a lovely evening.

This is what my table looked like...

Halloween 2008

Happy Halloween! I am not one who gets all excited about Halloween. I let those around me dictate how fired up I get for the event. I can easily ride on their enthusiasm or lack thereof without much thought since my own attitude is pretty neutral. This year the Yoder RD decided (along with his staff) to throw a big Halloween party in the Connector. I took this as my opportunity to join in the fun and go all out. So I called my sister early in the month to see if she could hook me up with some Amish clothes for the bash. She lives in Shipshewana which is a hub of Amish AND her husband used to be Amish so I thought she could help...and she did! Here are some fun photos of me in my get up at the Halloween bash...

Head to toe look

Happy Amish woman

Serious Amish woman