Guac-Off

So, the rumor on the street is that there is going to be a guacamole contest, otherwise known as a Guac-Off. My friend Dan Haydn and I are both big guacamole fans and we've both been known to make a mean batch of the green goodness. So, over burritos at Beans and Barley the idea to have a hang-out night with two kinds of guacamole was tossed around. Just days later, as we sat at Oscar's after Impact, a contest was mentioned. I, being the competitive spirit that I am, jumped right in on that idea.

This week, as told by one Ryan Leavitt, avacados are buy-one-get-one-free at your friendly neighborhood Jewel. If this is the case, what better time to have a Guac-Off? I can see it now...a new annual, or even bi-annual event. Guacamole makers and lovers far and wide will be flocking to the suburbs of Milwaukee just to be a part of this wondrous contest. What started as two 20-somethings having a friendly competition just may turn into a new phenomenon.

I am, however, a little nervous. What if people don't like my guacamole? What if it is terrible? What if I get a bad batch of avacados? What if I've been bragging about something that actually doesn't taste any good? This really could be a humbling experience...how does it go? Ah yes, pride cometh before the fall. Oh well, all in good fun, all in good fun. Get ready for some guac-a-mo-le!

And here are the contestants:

Yeah, Soccer!

I love playing soccer! Now, I have no illusions about my actual ball handling skills (they are not spectacular), but I think I can hold my own on defense. I played a ton of soccer in high school. I was on a club team for fall and summer outdoor, winter indoors and then spring was the high school season. Our club team had some really great players, but I think that our coach taught us to play a little rough. You know, throw a hip or shoulder and then be the one to fall and get the call for your team. He never actually said to do these things, but most of the girls I played with ended up being physical players.

Since high school I played a bunch of co-ed intermurals in college and have been on a few co-ed adult rec teams and those are a bunch of fun. Sometimes a little limited on how many touches on ball you get, but a great work-out nonetheless. But, this fall my cousins got the itch to play and they set up a women's indoor team and I am having SO MUCH FUN! Why is it that I get such a rush out of being hip checked into the walls, and in the process taking out a girl and then watching as she gets a penalty for the play? What does this mean? On the way home from games we replay every rough play of the game and almost brag about what is going to be sore the next day and who is going to have the biggest bruises. Plus, It is almost a little bit of glory to have black and blue marks, on their way to turning greenish-yellow, left over from the week before.

All this conversation interspersed with talk of the cute jacket that we saw at Banana Republic, who is getting their hair cut, or when a new episode of Lost is finally going to be aired. After all, we are still a little bit girly!

The Place of Scripture

This is just a little piece of a prayer that I prayed in the summer of 2006. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I found use for it again, just recently.

"Lord, Before I even open my Bible I must confess, I am coming from a very dry spiritual time. Not so evident to those around me, but the dryness of my heart has been chaffing against the persistent prodding of the Holy Spirit. "

I was thinking about why I fall into the pattern of neglecting the study of Scripture so easily and I came up with a theory. My best and most affective times of study, in any area of life, are when I have a purpose behind my study. So, I choose to have a purpose.

My purpose will be, and is, to study Scripture in order to show myself the wonders and the riches of the promises of God to his people and then to let those promises seep into my life and out of my thoughts, words, and actions. My purpose to to be transformed into the person that God desires for me to be. I desire nothing more than to be a woman of God. Scripture is where I belong.

Christmas Break ~ Family, Friends, and Fun

Merry Christmas!
Amy, Maja, and Alissa at Christmas Eve dinner at the Black's

Captions from Top to Bottom:

Our friend, Philip Springmann, from growing up went shopping at the Gap. Alissa was working and invited him to our "Day After Christmas Bash."

This was the "family pic" on Christmas night. After a whole day of relaxing with my parents and brothers some friends, Beth, Kira, and Dave, came down to Racine to catch the movie, Pursuit of Happyness.

Part of the SNAP reunited! Mark was just back from Malaysia and in town for a little while so we got brunch at The Original Pancake House. Yum!

This was the group for New Year's Eve. Beth, Jon, Hannah, James, Liz, Noelle, Drew, Dan, and Maja! Happy 2007!