3 blogs you should follow

I love blogs. When people share what they are passionate about, I can't help but smile. I especially love when someone's personality comes out in his or her blog. Today, I am going to share with you three blogs that make me happy. When my Google reader shows that there are unread stories on these blogs, I do a little dance. Mainly in my head. But still. I love them, and, most likely, you will too.

1. For Better or Bratwurst.

 This is a cooking blog created recently by my beautiful friend, Kaitlyn. Not only is Kaitlyn doing an excellent job coming up with tasty recipes to feed her "beast" of a husband, but she is so funny while she is doing it. I am so impressed with her ability to cook healthy, meaty food. Follow this blog for yummy food and a smile.

2. A Bicycle Built for Two

When I first found this blog a few weeks ago, the first thing I noticed was their last name. It is the same as ours! Then I sat there hoping that somehow we were related so we could have an excuse to meet and be friends. Because they seem like a newlywed couple I would like to be friends with! Name twin friends, if you will.  They share plenty of healthy recipes, and about life between meals.

3. Miss Mustard Seed

I was introduced to this blog pretty recently, and I have already learned so much about paint and refinishing furniture. I am so impressed with her stuff, and she gives pretty detailed instruction on how to do things.

The story of the free tickets

There once was a girl named Haley, and her husband named Nick. They spent the summer living with their grandparents in Texas. One day, her uncle called. A man had given him four tickets to the Rangers game, complete with a season coupon for parking! The tickets were for right behind first base, under the second level, in the shade! There was much rejoicing!

The group got ready quickly, donning Rangers hats and red and blue, and headed toward the Ballpark. They made their way to a perfect parking spot across the street from the park. And again, there was much rejoicing!

Once inside, they sat down and relaxed in their lovely seats in the shade. There was as light breeze, and while the sun was blazing, they were safe. And there was much rejoicing!

And then the game began. And there were errors. And errors. And more errors. It ended up feeling like the longest game Haley and Nick had ever attended. And there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.

But alas, there was hope. Nick found a coupon for five dollars off a purchase in the concession stand, so he got some nachos! And then Nick bought Haley a strawberry freeze! And there was much rejoicing once again!

But, the strawberry freeze wasn't enough to pull the Rangers out of their funk.  The group retreated for the comfort of air conditioning and watermelon when the score was 13 to 2, in favor of the Mets.
And once the AC was found and the watermelon was consumed, there was again much rejoicing.

Proof that my hubby has always been super good looking.

Take me out to the ballgame!

Nick and I took advantage of discounted tickets through Baylor and headed over to the Ballpark in Arlington to watch the Rangers cream the Mets. And, since we live right by the Ballpark, it was quite an easy drive.

We sat in the shade the entire game. The Rangers won. They handed out free Dr. Pepper. There was a fireworks show.  All of these things contributed to a lovely date night!

Pinterest!

A few weeks ago, Kaitlyn introduced me to Pinterest. I am addicted.  I have found so many recipes and so many diy projects... I can't even contain myself!

So. If you like finding inspiration online, and sharing inspiration with others... If you like super user friendly websites and extreme organization... Then get a pinterest!

And you can check out mine at pinterest.com/haleyelisabeth. Woot woot.

Waco

Nick and I traveled south to Waco this week, and had a grand time.

We walked around campus...

Visited the bears...

Enjoyed Common Grounds...

Relaxed on a swing...

And then it happened.  I was setting up the self timer on my camera so we could take a lovely picture in front of the science building. Nick was being silly, jumping off the stairs and coming up with different poses to try. All of a sudden, a gust of wind came out of nowhere and my camera, in slow motion, fell off its perch and down three concrete stairs.  The lens was stuck, halfway in the camera. In fact, it's still stuck. And my camera is useless. Boo.

After that, we went to La Fiesta with a friend from Rolla, and then meandered over to the Zamzows to spend the night.  That involved plenty of Big Bang Theory, Fro Yo, and Gilmore Girls.  Nick and I had the pleasure of sharing a twin sized bed.  It wasn't the first time, and it probably won't be the last. And it was better than sleeping on the floor or the couch. But perhaps the reason the divorce rate is so high is because too many couples sleep in twin size beds. And least that is what was going through my head the next morning.  I kid. Sort of.

Corey made some delicious cinnamon swirl muffins for breakfast. After indulging in them, we headed to Common Grounds to read before driving back to Arlington.

All in all, it was a great visit!

The hubster has fallen asleep to Harry Potter.

A man after my own heart.

Pancakes!!

Over the past couple of days, I have stumbled upon 4 different pancake recipes that I am now dying to try! I figured I would post them here so others can enjoy them and so I can remember to make them!

1. Cake Batter Pancakes from How Sweet It Is

How can you resist something like this? Oh my gosh. The sprinkles... the glaze... it's perfect.

2. Blueberry Vanilla Bean Pancakes from Oh She Glows

These are more healthy than I am used to... I mean, let's be honest... But they look so good. Anything with "vanilla bean" in the name has my vote.

3. Cinnamon Roll Pancakes by Recipe Girl

Back to the sugary options! I doubt I could make them look this great... But I am sure they will taste fine!

4. Orange Chocolate Chip Pancakes by (Never Home) Maker

And ending on a healthy note... The orange is what caught my eye with these... Can't wait to try them!

For those who have the Pioneer Woman cookbook, I can actually recommend her sour cream pancakes. They are great! And I don't like sour cream! If you don't have the cookbook, you can easily do a google search and find multiple people who have reposted her recipe online.

And speaking of cooking, has anyone ever had rhubarb pie or cobbler? I have stumbled across a few different recipes for pie, cobbler, and shortbread recently, but I have never had rhubarb, so I am a little nervous to try it. But the pictures make it look so good!

Two Must Have Seasonings

We have discovered two seasonings that will probably never be missing from our kitchen ever again. I am so in love with them. Both of them. Together, separate... On potatoes, or chicken, or pasta... One word. Yum.

The first is Mrs. Dash's Garlic and Herb seasoning blend.  We had plenty of other Mrs. Dash products, but for some reason, not this one. Never again.

The second is actually salt. But it is the tastiest salt I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. It's Real Salt, and I don't understand why it tastes so good, but trust me, it does. My Papa doesn't like it because the minerals are kind of crunchy, but it hasn't bothered us at all. They have a few different kinds but we use the fine salt. Scrumptious.

Providence

I will write about our road trip after this post. I just want to fill yall in on the Providence part, first.

Our trip to Prov was great! We got to see the ocean and eat fresh fish and chips. We visited Northpointe Christian Church, a recent church plant that meets in a movie theater. The people there are so lovely... We had multiple meals with them and got to spend some quality time around the fire roasting marshmallows.
On Monday, a real estate agent who goes to the church drove us around all of Providence and its suburbs.  He told us about different neighborhoods and schools. It was a great way to see all of the city. I loved all of it. The buildings have so much character and the place is full of history.
There is a section of Providence called Federal Hill, that apparently has all these amazing places to eat. A lot of it is authentic Italian food. Our tour guide said that you can't pick a bad place to eat there.  So, on Monday night, we decided to try it out. We walked around and found a yummy pizza/pasta/wraps place.  And the atmosphere of the entire area was so cute.

Doesn't it remind you of Italy at Epcot?

Anyway, on Tuesday, we walked around the Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design campuses. I LOVE that side of town. Brown is so unique, the buildings look like old New England houses... You can't even tell you are on a college campus at some points, it just looks like you are walking through a neighborhood.

So, although you probably know, for this blog, we are officially moving to Providence, Rhode Island this fall! Nick will be part of the Sojourn Collegiate Ministry's Providence team.  Please check out our website by clicking HERE.

As for right now, our timeline is kind of fuzzy. Currently, we are working on raising support. Before we can go out there, we have to raise $30,000. We are praying fervently for supporters to step forward as we start letting people know about our next adventure. While any gifts are greatly appreciated, we are especially praying for monthly supporters, since we will definitely be out there for at least two years. We would love for the people who have invested in our lives in the past to come along side us for the next two years while we are in Rhode Island.
We are hoping to move out there in late August or September, but it really depends on how fundraising goes.




If you are reading this and would like more information about how you can partner with us, check out our website or email us at nick.haleyjensen@gmail.com.  We would love to meet with you and discuss our next great adventure!

Well, after more than 4000 miles on the road, we are back!! The trip was totally amazing, and I am in love with Providence, Rhode Island. No time to update tonight, but there will be one soon!

On the agenda:
- Feather extensions in my hair tomorrow! Yippee!
- Anna's wedding on Saturday! So excited to celebrate with her!
- Visit Corinn/camp next weekend!

road trip!

On Thursday, Nick and I will begin our road trip to Providence, RI.  The trip is 1,725 one way... With plenty of interesting stops along the way! I am so excited! We are planning on exploring Nashville, DC, Philadelphia, and NYC along the way! So, if you have any suggestions on cool, free things to do along the way, or even in Providence, let us know! Or, if you have friends we could stay with in the Virginia/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area, that would be awesome! :)

I'm hoping to take a video camera to document this awesome road trip.

It's been a while since we updated. This month has been pretty busy.

My roomie, Rachel, and her husband, Corey, came to visit a few weeks ago! We grilled steaks and played disc golf and spent some great quality time together before they headed to Columbia to visit their future home.

The next week, Nick was gone from Wednesday until Saturday, visiting Providence, RI., since we are considering moving there.  He loved everything about the trip, and maybe he will post about it here sometime.
On his way back, he picked Jonathan Fletcher up from the airport! Fletch spent the weekend with us and we went to Maggie and Kevin's wedding together.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  It was in an awesome old barn, decorated with lights and tulle. Plus there was great food and fabulous dancing. 

This is our last half of a week in Rolla.  We will be moving to Dallas for the summer on Wednesday, just in time for Kaitlyn's wedding! I am so excited for her and Joshua, and so honored to be able to be a part of it!

We started packing today, which was weird, since it doesn't feel like we have been here long enough to leave. Tonight, Nick and I are eating cheap Chinese food and hopefully watching The King's Speech.  We were supposed to go to a date night fundraiser at our church, but I have to babysit later than usual.  Kind of a bummer, but we will have our own date night!

Week 15!

Well, this past week was full of surprises! Honestly, I don't remember a lot of the early part of the week, so I will just fill you in on the latter part of the week.

On Thursday, we packed up our stuff and headed to Texas after I got off of work.  My parents didn't know we were coming, so it was going to be a big surprise! After driving through storms, we finally got to Plano around 3:30am. Corinn had left the keys in the mailbox so we were able to sneak in and crash in my old room.

The next morning, we came downstairs, and surprised my mom and the rest of the fam. We went to lunch at El Norte and I got my fill on Tex Mex and delicious salsa.  Then, we went to Target and helped Callie find some new clothes.  Then, we went to Half Price Books and used the rest of a gift card on Emma, Little Women, You Are Special, and a Peter Pan popup book.  We spent some time at home and then celebrated my brother, Clay's birthday at Fuddruckers with some family friends. 

On Saturday, we went to REI, IKEA, and Old Navy. Then, we came back home and basically crashed.  I slept for a couple of hours while Nick went and played some disc golf at a park near by.  Then, we went to Chuy's with my dad and siblings. Man, I love that place.

On Sunday, we went to my old church, and then ate roast with my grandparents at home.  Then, we loaded back in the car with a ton of stuff, and headed back to Rolla, with a stop at Starbucks inbetween.  We left around 2:30 and made it back around 11:00.  The storms we drove through were incredible, although the drive was kind of scary for a little while.

Pictures to come later!

Week 14!

Wow, week 14 of marriage! Crazy!

Well, the week started with church, college lunch, and Dave Ramsey on Sunday.

Nick was working hard on his senior design project, and I was able to help him out with some papers and editing and such. Monday night, which is normally date night, turned into me working an extra hour at the gym and Nick spending all night on campus working on his project.  Which meant I stayed at home and watched Friends and then fell asleep all alone. It was kind of sad.

On Tuesday, we had our last gel group, and discussed dependence.  It was a really good discussion.

On Wednesday, Tyler came over for dinner after I got off of work.  We had twice baked potatoes and rolls and something else that I can't remember... Anyway, then Leah and Kevin came over and we went to Sonic. And they kept us up 2 hours later than we normally stay up. haha.

Thursday, I started feeling really bad, but of course it was our busiest day.  Due to some miscommunication, Nick thought I had been kidnapped and we were 45 minutes late for CCF. But we got there in time for Tyler to announce to everyone that he is leaving CCF in the near future to move to Providence and start a college ministry there. But there will be another post on that later.  Nick had a soccer game right after, but they lost. Then we hung out with some friends until late, again.

On Friday, we made butterbeer cupcakes!! Leah had some people over to watch HP DH1, so we brought the cupcakes over and had "butterbeer" and pretzel wands.  It was definitely a jolly good time.  The cupcakes were pretty good but kind of complicated to make.

Saturday, Nick had a field trip to St. Louis.  He got to eat frog legs and drink raspberry beer.  Both things sound disgusting to me.  I had a three hour training for the day care, which I really enjoyed.  I have missed being in a learning environment.  Afterward, I hung out with Dan and some of his roommates. We played Mario on the wii and watched Cupcake Wars and Wizards of Waverly Place and skyped with Hope, Dan's girlfriend, who is in Italy! Then, Nick came back and we went and got Chinese food and brought it back to Dan's and watched House.

So basically, this week was a week for community!

Nick has 3 more weeks until he graduates! Woooohooo! Then we will be in Rolla for another 3 weeks, and down to Dallas for Kaitlyn and Joshua's wedding!

Week 13!

Well, we just finished week 13 of marriage!

We got home from the airport at 2am on Sunday... It was cold, and pretty much a slap in the face compared to the lovely Florida weather.

Sunday morning, we started our month of volunteering with our church's children's ministry.  We are in charge of checking in the babies/preschoolers and taking them to their classes... Well, I take the children, while Nick stands there and looks pretty.  I'm going to have him carry one of the babies tomorrow.

Tuesday, our gel group discussed Godly Discipline.  We focused on prayer, study, and corporate worship.  I was seriously convicted and challenged.

My work schedule changed this month, so now I don't have to work at the daycare on MWF.  It feels like I have a lot more time on my hands.
Nick's week was pretty busy since he had a test, a presentation, and then his Fundamentals of Engineering exam today. 

On Thursday, we spent almost 2 hours at Walmart with Tyler, because they fail at life and wouldn't let us pick up these bunk beds for a lady who runs a battered women's shelter.  But some great conversation was had and we got to watch Tyler drive a scooter and hobble around like an old man because he blew out his knee. 

That night, he cooked us dinner since he made us wait at Walmart for so long... hooray for free dinner and tons of Big Bang Theory episodes.

Friday was a pretty lazy day... I made 5 dozen cookies. Not on purpose, that's just how many the batch made.  I babysat in the afternoon, which was great. Nick and Dan drove to Jefferson City to bring back Nick's motorcycle.  So then we got to go for a ride to fetch an appropriate calculator for the FE.  It terrifies me but is still pretty fun.

Today, Nick woke up early and went to take his exam. I've been praying for stamina and quick recall of everything he has learned these past 4 years. After he is done around 7 or 8, we will have a party! :)

Wedding Pictures

I realized that I hadn't posted about our wedding pictures! We haven't gotten all of them back yet, but we already love the ones we've seen!  The ones I am sharing now were taken and edited by the one and only Bryce Hamilton.  I am going to post just a few of our favorites, but you can check out more on facebook.

The Honeymoon!

Well, we are back from our honeymoon/vacation/spring break! I am sorry I wasn't able to update about Week 11… But we were out of town on Saturday, and honestly, at this point, I don't even remember what we did that week! I remember watching Baylor basketball and spending plenty of time with friends… but that's about it.

And now, for Week 12! Oh boy, I could write forever and ever about this past week.  Just as an introduction, since Nick started school the Monday after our wedding, we weren't able to go on a honeymoon right away.  So, for Spring Break, we planned a trip to Disney World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We were blessed by Nick's parents to get to stay at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, which was SO beautiful.  There were plenty of white beaches and awesome pools.  The atmosphere was amazing.  There are definitely some perks to staying on Disney property, and we took advantage of all of them. 
- First, there was free shuttle service to and from the airport.  Disney even took our bags early yesterday morning so we didn't have to worry about them once we got to the airport.
- Second, the free Disney shuttles every 15 minutes meant we could hop on a bus whenever we wanted and have it take us anywhere in Disney! It was so nice not to have to worry about traffic or parking
- Third, Extra Magic Hours… Disney resort guests get extra hours at the parks.  It was so nice to walk around Magic Kingdom two hours after close and actually enjoy the atmosphere.
- Fourth, the Disney Dining Plan was GENIUS.  We got the cheapest one, which meant 2 quick-service meals each plus two snacks each a day.  Let me tell you, SO much food.  The meals included entrees, sides, and desserts, plus a drink.  We would have spent around $30 a meal on food if we hadn't have bought the meal plan.  It definitely saved us money and we were never hungry. The snacks were anything from ice cream to rice crispy treats to strawberry crepes…

Because we had 7 Day, Park Hopper passes, we were able to go to any park whenever we wanted… we didn't have to wake up early or stay at the park all day until close… We were definitely well rested!

Some favorites/highlights from each park:

Magic Kingdom
- Dole Whip Pineapple soft serve!
- The classics like Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and Pirates
- Walking around at night, after hours, and getting to enjoy rides with low wait times
- I think my favorite ride was Peter Pan.  I love that story and it was so fun to fly over the perfect scenes.

Epcot
- Yummy meals in Japan, Mexico, France, and China
- Enjoying a Moroccan dinner on our first night in the Moroccan outdoor marketplace.
- One of my favorite rides for years has been Soarin, and I was so glad that Nick got to experience it with me too! We rode it 3 times!
- Nick really liked the Test Track, but I wasn't as big of a fan.
- Living with the Land was a really cool tour.
- The Disney Flower and Garden Festival is going on now, so all over the park, they had characters made entirely out of flowers.  It was really cool.
- We also loved watching all of the films about the different countries.  Hopefully we will be able to visit some of them someday!

Animal Kingdom
- Festival of the Lion King was my favorite show that we saw. Such a cool experience.
- Finding Nemo, the Musical
- Expedition Everest-- Probably the best ride at Disney! So awesome!
- Going on a safari that seemed so real!

Hollywood Studios
- I rode Tower of Terror for the first time... and while it is one of my worst nightmares coming true, I still enjoyed it.
- Toy Story Mania was one of our favorite rides... so cool!
- Unfortunately, it was raining on our first day there, and the second time we went, the Rock n Roller Coaster was closed... We never got to ride it or see Fantasmic.  Oh well.
- I love the whole "classic Hollywood" feel of this park!
- We escaped the rain and watched Beauty and the Beast, the musical. It was great!

And of course... The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!
- It was WAY more crowded than any Disney park we went to... and MUCH smaller. This was definitely a bummer.
- BUT the Forbidden Journey is probably my favorite ride from the entire trip. It was amazing! And the line went all the way through Hogwarts, which was awesome.
- Butterbeer is DELICIOUS!
- We ate fish and chips in the Three Broomsticks. So cool!

Well that's about it. Check out my facebook for more pics.  Now we are back in Rolla, where it is windy and 44 degrees. Yeah...