two christmases.

'tis the season!

i flew into oklahoma city from seattle last weekend, perfect timing for family christmas there. saturday was the usual, shopping, baking, and relaxing around the house. we played some catch phrase, and christopher, aunt do and i dominated....chris and i have that brother sister thing going for us. the next day was the big meal, i know the spread by heart. we voted, and i think the stuffing is the favorite, closely followed by the peas and onions.

kristin's cheesecake- she has a catering business, so you know it was good.

the family! minus cousin bob.

then back to texas, where it was a very warm 78. i could hardly wait to get my running shoes on and hit the trails! the next few days i managed to accomplish all my christmas shopping, get in a few good jogs, and spend some quality time at starbucks, both reading and chatting with people. victoria and i grabbed lunch at chipotle and got pedicures, per our tradition every time we're home.

i baked up some molten lemon cakes for a non-traditional christmas dessert.

the dogs helped...

this house is decorated to the max- there was literally a parade of cars driving by to see it on christmas eve. it's like this all the way around, and the property is huge. apparently the light count is up 300,000 from last year.

aforementioned dessert, final product.

bacon wrapped green bean bundles, baked in butter and brown sugar. a crowd favorite, back by popular demand.

some of the family around the table for our new tradition, a post-meal board game.

pictionary was the game of choice.

and here we all are. there was a normal one taken too, but the candid one fits our true state much more appropriately...

so that was christmas. i decided that o holy night is my favorite song this season; we sang it every week of advent at mars hill, and at the part that says "fall on your knees," i always picture a booming choir and raging organ pipes. i've never paid such attention to the words before, so full of truth. i was thinking this morning how thankful i am that the Lord is personal. that he hears our prayers. that he can identify with us because he came as a man to experience life on earth. that his words are not only applicable, but powerful. that he knows how to provide for us because he knows precisely what we need. that he makes good on his promises. that his character is unchanging. that in Jesus, he gave us a tangible picture of the invisible God. truth. i'm thankful for truth in a world that has none.

much love,
tracey

oh yeah, my other favorite song is "all i want for christmas is you." sing it mariah; i crank that thing up and belt it out.

festa natale italiano.

well my usual blog post writing routine has been thrown off a bit by traveling home for the holidays. it's been a busy past few days! we'll flashback to last thursday, as that was the day that i looked forward to all of last week.

i had a lot to prep for on wednesday, getting mostly packed and making sure i had all necessary cooking ingredients for the party. with packing my lunch for thursday and making sure my car was no longer leaking (that was the big event of the week, a very leaky car in a very rainy city. bad combo. i was carless for a day or so while they fixed it), i got out of the car at work to find that i left EVERYTHING on the kitchen counter. backpack, lunch, water bottle, office key, wallet. uh, someone tried to plan ahead a little TOO much and got ahead of herself. maybe i thought i had already put it in the car?? who knows. i thought i was going to have to run back home and get it, but it turns out that bill needed help prepping for the big christmas staff party that he was catering for the next day. susie and i spent the day in the kitchen instead, which was enjoyable, at least to me! i learned how to make chocolate bomb truffles and helped with the lemon squares, as well as chopped a ton of veggies to make veggies baskets with. we did the crossword puzzle at lunch as usual, then headed home a little early.

gary came over a little bit later to bake for the party- we made homemade pizza (sauteed mushrooms and red onion, walnuts, fresh parsley, pear, and gorgonzola), 7 layer bars, and chocolate cookies, some with mint and some with peanut butter. i think we used almost every bowl in the house, and left a mountain of dirty dishes in the sink when we ran out the door a few minutes late for the party. it was alright though, we were some of the first ones there. it didn't really kick off until around 7, when we broke the foil off all the delicious dishes that people brought and dug in! lasagna, homemade pizza, fresh spinach salad, veggie antipasto, bread, black bean and corn quinoa, and more. we loaded up our plates and chowed down as katy and dorina made the rounds, taking a silly picture with everyone in the room. then the whole group played a game where you had to act the part of whatever theme was shouted out- girls first, then guys. we took a ton of photos to document. i think the desserts impressed all of us, sugar cookies, chocolate cookies, 7 layer bars, chocolate cheesecake, homemade lemon merangue pie, homemade pumpkin pie, and gelatto, to fit the italian theme. then a mad dance party erupted, and when the lobby closed at ten, the crew relocated to the goetz house for some remote control helicopter fun and more conversation.

all in all, it was a great night with great friends. unfortunately, my alarm was set for a mere 2 hours after i got back home....that's hardly even a nap. by the time i did the mountain of dishes and finished packing, i think i was a walking zombie.

off to the airport the next morning to catch a 6am flight- sunrise from the plane was beautiful. AND i got to see the city lights beforehand, double bonus. i love flying.

photos from the fiesta:

after cooking up all the tasty goods

lovely ladies!

"james bond"

"grandpa"

the end :)

grace upon grace.

this week has been a whirlwind. i've been overwhelmed with the grace of the Lord to provide in ways i didn't even know i needed, challenging me in ways that make me wrestle through things, teaching me patiently and gently. i've been blown away by his bigness, his goodness, his purpose. i've gotten to have lots of good conversations, especially at work, about what i believe and why. my current preceptor is a very opinionated guy, and he has a lot of random facts stored up in his head. we always seem to ask questions that end up back at what we believe and why. it makes me think.

i've learned a lot about prayer this week too, what it looks like to steadfastly seek answers from the Lord, and seen the response in many ways. i've been reminded of the freedom in complete honesty, in letting go of the fear of man and choosing instead to trust the Lord.

"and from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace."
john 1:16

this past saturday was the west seattle christmas tree lighting- there were free cookies and hot chocolate, which might have been the highlight of the event, as the tree was slightly lacking in ornamentation. most of my community group and a few friends from church turned out for the event though, which always translates to fun and good times. we walked our way over to the matador for some happy hour nachos after that, and then relocated to the goetz's for banagrams and some ridiculous fun with a whoopie cushion. nicole and jenna kept us highly entertained with that.

the girls at c&p to get some hot coffee before heading out to the tree lighting

huddle by the cookie stand

we threw down some serious nachos. granted, there were at least ten of us, but still...

caught in the act

a pause in the game of bananagrams

other highlights of the week: cooking a veggie feast (including kale, and roasted garlic and rosemary bread with balsalmic and oil to dip it in) on monday with susie, shadowing in the NICU in tacoma, working with the cutest little asian kids at a day care, giving a presentation to an after school program in spanish about nutrition, community group (always), eating grilled cheese and soup with the neighbor boys across the street (i felt like a little kid again), planning a skype date with lara grantham, exploring the ballard locks and going bowling last night, and getting off work early today!

my best game, and the only one i won :) notice the strike, that helped.

i'm looking forward to the weekend. sleepover tonight, christmas party tomorrow, church and hanging out on sunday. i'll keep you posted :)

week in review.

The week in review...it’s been a unique one!

On Wednesday at work Susie and I worked on an in-service we gave to the staff on dysphagia mechanical and puree diets.

Just one reason why I don’t really care to ever lose my teeth or have swallowing problems. Broccoli, chicken, and hot dogs just aren’t quite the same once they’re blenderized…

We also got to make the rounds and interview new residents for their food preferences. There was this one cute old man who, as soon as I walked in the door, said “Are YOU the one getting MARRIED this afternoon??” I assured him that no, I’m not getting married, rather I’m there to talk to him about his food preferences. He tells me what he likes and doesn’t like (with a little help from his wife), then goes on to say I better marry that boy before he runs away. He also told me that I better love Jesus, because, in his own words, “Jesus is the only thing that matters!” He was such a cute old man :)

Wednesday and Thursday were decently nice with respect to the weather, so I took advantage to go on a walk both days in Lincoln park.

It was chilly, but I wore lots of layers, and it was great time to think and enjoy listening to the waves. On Wednesday Susie and I discovered this really great farmer’s market on our way home from work, and I bought ALL these fruits and veggies for only $5!!

What a steal, I think I’ll be a regular there for all my future produce needs. We made a top-notch salad with some fresh rosemary garlic bread for dinner, and enjoyed it with half a glass of Malbec red wine.

On Friday Susie and I got off work early after running an errand to Kent for the dietary manager. While we were there (it’s decently farther south than where we live), we stopped in IKEA to explore. We both stocked up on some cheap candles, and I thoroughly enjoyed a $1 latte. How is all their stuff so cheap?? That afternoon I went on a jog, again in Lincoln park, to take advantage of the sunshine. We made red bell/goat cheese/red onion/roasted garlic pizza from scratch for dinner, and then both spent the evening getting caught up on little things at home to the light of all our new candles.

This morning I slept in (to 8:15, haha), then had a fat chunk of time to sit and read at c&p. I intended to do some homework, but didn’t quite get around to it….it happens. I’ve been reading in Isaiah for the past couple weeks, and the most recent chapters have been full of promise after promise of how the Lord will remember our sins no more, how he has redeemed us, how he invites us to fear not. How he will do wonderful things, despite our lack of belief, and that his redemption of us is for his glory and his purposes. Thought of the week? The timing of the Lord is flawless, and his purposes are always good. He is persistent in his pursuit of our heart, and he is faithful to give us direction.

Off to meet up with the girls for some rounds of Bananagrams, then for the Christmas tree lighting at the junction!

Love.