Cinnamon Roll Waffles

This is so easy that you really shouldn't call it a recipe. And if you're attempting to be remotely healthy, you also shouldn't try it. Just thought you could use that warning. 

I don't really like breakfast food as breakfast food, and in fact made this as a dessert, but it could work for special occasion breakfasts (that's what my family did growing up and I fully intend to continue that tradition).

  

Anyhow, I discovered this by pure accident on the world wide web. Not sure where, but if you were to google "Cinnamon Roll Waffles" tons of posts come up. I'm glad I found it though, because if I were going to  cook cinnamon rolls again, I'd do it this way... it's so quick! 

Anyway, you'll need: 

1 tube of Cinnamon Rolls with icing

1 waffle maker

non-stick spray 

This is our waffle maker. It entered our marriage with Carson, I believe. It generally hangs out in the back of a cabinet because I don't like to clean it - I'm more of a pancake fan for that reason alone. 

So all you do is heat up the waffle iron, spray it really well, and throw a cinnamon roll in the middle. This blurry picture shows you the idea. It cooks in there for less than a minute, so don't walk away. 

Lather it with icing, and you're done! 

Carson said that I was a domestic genius after eating this.

 Not really. 

He actually claimed that I was going to give him diabetes, but right before he ate this, he ate several chocolate chip cookies topped with canned whipped cream, so I think he's going that direction on his own. 

Enjoy, but take a walk immediately after, and go for a run and eat only vegetables for the next seven days to make up for it. I mean it. 

Two Years

It's been two years since we became Mr. and Mrs. Bay. 

I really don't even know what to say about that. 

It was a wonderful day, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I'm glad that it was the first day of the rest of our lives and not necessarily the highlight of our entire life together. 

That was the point from which the rest could grow.
It was the start of everything else.

On that day, we loved each other more than ever, but nothing compared to what we have now. 

I love thinking back to our wedding. It was perfect in its imperfections. 

But more than that, I am happy to live life with this man. To have memories that are not all about me in a white dress. I'm thankful for the failure and laughter and things that only we can reminisce about. I'm thankful that we live life together as our own family unit, and not as separate entities. 

Life isn't perfect and wonderful all the time, but I'm glad it's with him. 

Tea and Crumpets

Catherine and I hosted a tea party on Mother's Day afternoon. Her mother attended, but everyone else's mothers live out of state and far away so it was the perfect afternoon. 

We made fun tea party food: fruit salad, cupcakes, cookies, cucumber sandwiches and crackers and cheese. It was a simple party and very warm outside so we didn't do anything fussy.

In addition to hot tea, there was iced tea and lemonade. I had lemonade... in a teacup. 

We sat around and chatted about the weather and other polite things.

We ate tea party food

And we took a picture with our teacups. Two people are missing, but it was still a small group. We enjoyed ourselves and had an excellent time making conversation over cups of tea and finger sandwiches. 

Last Spring Formal

Spring formal is a big deal around here. Formal tickets sell out quickly at school and there's a long waiting list. I got tickets early because I'm a senior. I felt that we HAD to go because it's not only fun, but it was also our first date: spring formal 2009. Carson enjoys it too and is excited by it, if you were wondering

So we spent the day getting ready. Molly, Rachel and I had our hair and makeup done by my friend Jessie, who was incredibly quick and got us out of there in around two hours... which is SUPER fast for doing hair and makeup times three, plus being a mom. After that we went to Paige's house where people were getting ready. We got dressed there and then went to my house to meet our guys. 

Molly and I were sure to get a picture with Erica beforehand. We call ourselves "the joke" because, we're a blonde, brunette and redhead. Some of my first roommates.

Erica and her fiance Zack had to get there early so they didn't join us for more pictures. We went to Riverfront Park to snap a few before heading to the formal: Hauschilds, Bays, Fletchers.

Molly and I

Molly and Jerrad didn't get tickets in time, so they went on a dressy date night, while we headed to the Davenport Hotel after taking our pictures. It was fun to get there and see everyone dressed up. I didn't recognize some people - everyone looked way different from the usual jeans and t-shirt look at school. I loved that.

There was a photobooth at the formal. SUCH a great thing. It was there all night, but the line was super long because it was so popular.

Food line

Deidre, Jamilla and I 

 Ashley, Jaimie and I... they're graduating with me next week! 

Carson and the recently-engaged Ian... they used to be housemates

Maila and I... her baby bump was finally showing :)

Carson and I... I thought he was making a face too...guess not

Carson's longtime roommate and good friend Brian. He'll also be graduating this month!

Kristen and I... she's in my degree program!

Rachel, Missy and I - they borrowed dresses and I think they look better in them than I do!

 Love the bathrooms at the Davenport! Had to get mirror shots!

Angela and I at the after party dance. She didn't make it to the formal, but we danced afterward! 

I think that this was the best formal I've attended. I wasn't the biggest fan of the entertainment, but I really had a blast getting ready, taking pictures and enjoying the formal with friends. 

Open House

We're so blessed to have great "couple friends" here in Spokane. We've had a lot of these friendships since we were all single and along the way our good friends have married great people and now they're fun couples to spend time with! 

One of these fabulous couples is John and Rachel, whom you've seen from time to time here. They live in our building; our living rooms actually share a wall. We've known John for longer, as he came to Moody at the same time Carson and I did. He and Carson are great friends and John is actually the one who told us about CTR (the church we attend) and arranged for us to live in the Reilly building. Rachel came along a year later and I knew her because she lived with one of my friends that year. She moved into the Reilly building at the same time as Carson and I did two years ago. Ever since, she has been a great friend! We've been  blessed to be there from the very start of their relationship. I even helped give ring suggestions before John proposed! 

We were supposed to be in their wedding this past January, but we had to miss out because the tickets were just too costly. They've been talking about doing an open house for all the Spokane friends who couldn't be there for the wedding... and four months later, they did! I helped plan it, making me feel like I was fulfilling the bridesmaid role I didn't get before. It was a fun time, and so great to celebrate such a fabulous couple!

The cake, with their original toppers

It was an optional bring-a-dessert open house and people really stepped up! 

Isabel caught the bouquet!

There was dancing

There were bridesmaids (I'd already purchased the dress when we made the decision not to attend the wedding... so I was happy to wear it!)

We took this picture after the party, so John's not wearing his suit (he wore it to formal the next day so stay tuned for that). We love these guys!

Cap and Gown

I picked up my cap and gown today.

Four years ago, I moved to Spokane thinking that I had an idea of what was in store. I was a sophomore in college, planning to spend only three more years in school, and had definite plans of making Spokane a mere speed bump on the road to the real Moody campus.

Funny, isn't it?


My exit interview was also today. We were discussing how I've grown since I've been here. I couldn't think of one area of my life where I hadn't changed in some way. From learning to live with non-family, to paying for rent and school, to the agony of job interviews, to surviving midterms, to finding a church to call home... every single aspect of my life now is one hundred percent different from the way it was when I arrived in 2008.

Today, I realized that my life couldn't have been more different from the way I'd planned. I've been married for almost two years (one week till our anniversary!), it took me four more years of school instead of three, I didn't go to the Chicago campus. Instead of being a place that I passed through, Spokane has been a home to me. I've grown up here, in more ways than one.

Since I have lived in this place, I have not only learned how to do "grown up things"; I have become something of my own person. What I mean by this is that living life here has challenged me to think through what I really think about things. Living with people with different backgrounds has made me question my beliefs (in a good way) and say to myself, "What do I really think about this or that?" and "WHY do I believe what I say I believe?" It's not that I doubt everything that I was taught growing up. Instead, I have reasoned through many of those things. Though I'm not very good about answering questions on the spot, I can actually give my honest opinion about issues in Christianity instead of spouting something I heard once upon a time in youth group.

Second Corinthians 5:17 isn't talking about me when it says "The old has passed away and the new has come" but I feel like that sometimes. Through a slow process where I didn't even realize that I was changing, I've changed. I'm not at all the same person. And four years isn't even a lot of time to change that much... I feel as if I should have stretch marks or something to show for all that change and growth (I'm glad I don't).

So though I didn't plan to give four years of my life to a school in the Northwest, I'm glad that I did. I am thankful for every moment here. I am thankful for my professors, my fellow classmates, friends, my husband, my church and all other people that I've come into contact with since being in this place. I love the changes. And looking forward to the future, I think that I can interpret change as a good thing. I have seen God's unchanging nature as His exhibits His faithfulness in the past four years and I can only imagine that I will continue to see it.

It's been a great four years. And very quick.
Eleven days until Pomp and Circumstance.

Making the Most of the Time

As the end of my time at Moody draws closer and closer each day, I am growing more thankful for my time in this place. 

I am thankful for the professors. So many of them are willing to share their lives with us students, and I'm not sure if I've benefited more from their life experience or lectures. 

I'm thankful for my friends. I know a small cluster at Moody. I've stayed close with some friends since our first year in Spokane. Others have moved away or transferred to Chicago. 

Small classes. This semester I've my classes have 8, 12, 7, 18, 12 and 100 people, respectively. All but the last one are for my major. I like the small class sizes. Definitely get to know people better that way. This semester especially, I've enjoyed spending time with the girls in my major (there aren't any guys yet). There are five of us graduating, four of us walking. I have them in most of my classes this semester. They've been a joy and encouragement. 

Minus two people, this is my entire Thursday afternoon class.

This is staged, but my classes are mostly very small like this one

I am thankful for new experiences. Even though I've lived here for four years, there are so many things I've never done or tried in Spokane. I recently joined my fellow Intercultural Min majors (plus one of next years' graduates) for dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant down the street. Since we're all Intercultural, we thought that it was best to try a new cuisine. We liked it! Very different, but a fun experience. 

I really don't remember what this was called. It tasted similar to a curry (but it wasn't). There was chicken in it. We ate the food with our hands, tearing off a piece of bread and grabbing the food with that.

Excellent name for a restaurant!