All I want for Christmas...

So every year I always joke that "all I want of Christmas is you."  You know, like the Mariah Carey song from back in the day?  Well this is the first year that the "you" actually has a face and a name to go with it.  Too bad that won't happen anytime soon!

Well then.

Thanksgiving break.  What a beautiful thing.  A great time to regroup and rethink and finish the next 4 weeks strong.  So much has happened in the last few months.  This year has been a huge year of changes. I constantly overestimate things.  I guess that's better than underestimating. .  Hard to believe how fast the past 4 months have gone by.  I still have a hard time believing I'm a big girl, with a big girl job.  I'm not gonna lie.  It isn't the easiest thing in the world.  I'm excited to get established better in Houston.  It's going to take time to find my place in this new life.  It just hasn't happened as quick as I had hoped.  I'm not the kind of person to test the waters with my big toe;  I like to dive right in and it gets me in trouble sometime.  Right now, I just kind of feel like I'm treading water a little bit.

Welcome back, Kotter.

Insomnia ensues, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to do a little blogging.

And now that I'm here, apparently writer's block is becoming an issue as well.

Where should I start?  How in the world did I go the entire summer without a post?  Let's go back to June...

So I finished my awesome road trip home by traveling back via Texas.  The first night of my drive I was hoping to make it all the way to San Antonio, but when I hit Houston I felt like I just had to stop because I was exhausted and didn't have the energy to drive another 3 hours.  I wound up staying at a hotel downtown and then hit the road early the next morning. After a little Facebook post about being in H-town, I started talking to a friend that teaches band in the west part of town about being on the job hunt.  Well he put me in touch with one of the job openings in here, and boom baba boom, a week later I had spent $600 on a plane ticket and was back in Houston.  So here I am 14 weeks later, and I've survived my first summer band experience as well as my first week of working as a high school band director. And apparently I've survived my first high school band director nightmare, though I'm not so sure I can call it surviving since it woke me up and I haven't been able to get back to sleep...

Melissa and me after hiking Upper Calf Creek Falls.

Fast forward to July.  After accepting the job in H-town I quickly started making preparations for the move.  FYI, moving 1,500 miles is NOT cheap, or easy.  Not at all.  Fortunately, I am very blessed with supportive parents who helped out a ton.  We decided to go with a freight shipping company because it appeared to be the most cost effective route.  The idea with those companies is if you have a small move, they come and box everything up, put it in a freight, and then put it on a truck that will be heading in the direction of your new place.  They guarantee delivery in 3 weeks, or so they say.  I knew it would take me 3 days to get to Texas, and I had already planned an awesome Southern Utah getaway with my best Utah girl for the 4th of July so I decided to go ahead and spend one of those weeks sans stuff while still in the 801.  They came and picked up my bed, vanity, skis, and 15 boxes on July 2, then I left for some good ole fashioned-sleeping on the ground-fun.  We got back from our camping adventure on July 7 and I spent the next two days visiting some last minute spots and finishing the last of my packing (for everything that was coming with me in the bug).

A stationary Gadzoom.  Been on this lift hundreds of times.

My last Sunday in Utah, I spent hiking Snowbird.  I went up the Gad Valley side, hiked up to Hidden Peak, and then down the Peruvian side.  I spent about 6 hours by myself at Snowbird that day.  It was the best way to say goodbye to Utah.  Snowbird had become my sanctuary, a place where I went when I needed a little rejuvenation.  I spent so many days on that mountain alone, that if I had had to share the day with someone else on the trails it wouldn't have felt right.

I said goodbye to all of my friends on July 9 with a party that started with pizza at the Pie, and ended at my empty Salt Lake City apartment.  I left town July 10, and arrived in Houston on July 12.  Let me tell you it has just been one adventure after another here.  My apartment is gorgeous.  I absolutely love it.  I'm looking forward to being able to fill it with more furniture, but all in good time.  My stuff that was supposed to get here the third week of July?  It didn't get here until the day after my 26th birthday (August 14, folks).  I slept on an air bed for 6 weeks.  Funny how even not teaching drum corps, I can't get away from air beds in the months of July or August.  (Remember last summer? ) The moving company had completely lost my stuff for a hot minute, but they eventually found it.  So at least now I have a bed, my antique dresser, and I was able to buy a couch two weeks ago.  My t.v. stand is a rubbermaid carton, but that's okay for now!

Roll Tide at Cowboys Stadium!

I've met some pretty awesome people here in town, and I'm really enjoying being back in the South.  There's just something about Southern charm and hospitality.  It's so great to be closer to a ton of friends, family, and of course the Crimson Tide.  I was able to go to the season opener in Dallas with my girl, Frances (who lives in Austin).  THAT was a blast.  No way I could have done that if I still lived in Salt Lake.

Life is crazy, and everything can change in an instant.  I feel like that sums up my life.  I'm on this glorious adventure, and I'm just going to keep following my path.  Who knows where it will actually lead in the next year... or 2 or 3.  If 3 years ago you had told me that I'd be moving to Utah, and then winding up in Texas, I would have called you crazy.  The future has amazing things in store, and this new chapter in life is already off to a great start.

Encourage.

Well I'm over half way to Alabama.  I've driven 1200 miles in the past two days.  Friday I woke up at 4am.  FOUR A.M. I'm insane, but we've been through that before.

I made it to Colorado in record time, I'm sure.  I made a nice little pit stop in Ft. Collins before heading to meet up with Selena at her lovely apartment in Broomfield, CO.  I haven't seen Selena since some of the Brass Angels took a road trip up to see our gal pal/fellow Angel, Kristen back in 2009.  That's forever ago!  It was so amazing to catch up with her!  We went to a lovely dinner at The Kitchen in downtown Boulder.  I'm so impressed with Boulder, CO.  What a beautiful place!  

Yesterday was 500 miles, today was 700.  700 miles normally doesn't sound terrible.  In fact, I've done it many times before...but 700 miles with most of those miles taking place in Kansas?  Oh bless.  The last 100 miles today, all I could think of was how incredibly sick of driving I was!   At least now that I've made it through Borington, USA the drive should be a little more...hmm...populated?

Many people have asked me why I am driving home rather than flying.  My friends, I'm crazy.  Clearly that's the only explanation you need.   Honestly, that's my only explanation for my actions and behaviors these days.  Sometimes, I want so badly to just want the things that everyone else my age wants.  I get these guilt trips from time to time, and desperately attempt to make these things that I should want a part of my life...It never quite works out the way I plan it all in my head.

Anywho, back to the inspiration of this post.  Most of you know that I help out with the children's department at my church.  I've been working with he 4th graders for about 15 months now.  I love it.   I love building relationships with those kids, asking them about their weeks on Sunday mornings, and giving them little bits of encouragement.   I was sent a video of one of the kids that usually attends the children's service in Adventure Canyon.   I watched it and immediately started sobbing.  (In fact the waterworks are about to start up again just thinking about it.)  This little boy isn't in my class, but I see him there every week.  I hope you'll take 4 minutes to watch it, and I think you'll be blown away just as I was.  Oh the things we can do...especially with a little encouragement.

 The things this world could do if we all encouraged each other a little more.    

Master?

Well assuming I passed Advanced Formal Procedures 1 for masters students, I am officially done with my masters degree at the University of Utah.

What a whirlwind.

The past two years have been quite the time for learning, and I have absolutely grown.  I've experienced so many emotions, and met so many people.  It's weird, I thought maybe by the time I finished a masters degree I would have some sort of enlightenment and know exactly how my life would pan out.  I have a much more narrow idea of where I'd like to be in 10 years, but I'm still scratching my head on how to get there.

I didn't expect the whole job application process to be easy, but I haven't expected it to be so hard either.  I've got a third interview in Pleasant Grove this Thursday evening for a job at a k-8 school.   We'll see how that pans out. I really just wish I could push a button and know what I'll be doing in 3 months, but life isn't that easy.

These two years haven't been easy...but I did it.  In a few months I'll have a little piece of paper that says Master of Music.  I still think that's funny. Lisa Tatum - Master of Music.  Tell THAT to my 17 year old self.  It's funny how what you want to do changes over the years, or in my case, doesn't change.  When I was 5 years old, my kindergarten teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up.  I said I wanted to be a teacher.  In the 5th grade, we had to write a paper about what we wanted to be when we grew up, and of course, I was a teacher.  In high school I had brief ambitions of wanting to go to med school, before deciding that I really wanted to major in music education when I went of to my freshman year at the University of Alabama.  Since then I've had times where I want to do something else in music, but I always come back to teaching.  It fits for me.  At least, I think it fits for me.  I suppose my 30 year old self will have a better answer for that than my 25 year old self.

What will future Lisa be like?   It sure will be exciting to find out.  

Late!

So I'm TERRIBLE.  I was supposed to post about this a week ago, but clearly I lack all ability to meet deadlines theses days.  And by all ability to meet deadlines, I really just mean posting on here.  

So I did the Foodie Penpal thing again last month, and I'm already signed up again for this month. =) 

LOVE IT.  My foodie penal this past month was Quinn, and here's what she sent me:  

Getting the box is like Christmas day!   

Dried pear, pineapple, kiwi, and mango!  

Raw California honey! 

Molé Sause!  Love love love Molé!

 Somehow I missed my individual picture   

   of the walnuts, but you can see them in the 

group shot.

                                    

  My little note from Quinn!

                    

Part of the reason I've been so bad about posting is because I had that little thing called 'graduating' to do. I can't believe for different the next few months of my life are going to be.  

Strawberry quinoa whole wheat pancakes

Here we go! Another clean breakfast recipe entry. Hehe. =)  It seems like I post more breakfast recipes than anything else.  I made strawberry quinoa the other day to have for breakfast for a few days.  Last night my friend Melissa and I had a slumber party (after going to the Bee's game) so I got inspired to try some quinoa pancakes.  I've been seeing recipes all over Pinterest for quinoa pancakes, but of course I always have to play around and come up with my own creation.  So in order to make strawberry quinoa whole wheat pancakes, you need to know how to make strawberry quinoa first! So I'm including both recipes.  Quinoa usually takes a hot minute to cook, so don't expect this to be a drive-thru quick breakfast. The reason I like putting it in my rice cooker is because I can throw everything in there and just forget about it while I shower and get ready for the day.   Enjoy!

Strawberry breakfast quinoa.

1 cup uncooked quinoa (rinsed)

8 frozen strawberries (cored)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 packets of stevia 

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups water  

Makes 4 servings (1/2 cup cooked  = 1 serving) 

Put all ingredients in your rice cooker and let cook until done!  Stir so that the strawberries break apart and mix with all of the quinoa.  For this healthy breakfast top with vanilla almond or soy milk and enjoy! 

Strawberry quinoa whole wheat pancakes with strawberry chia compote.

Pancakes: 

1 cup cooked strawberry quinoa

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

4 tablespoons Greek yogurt

¼ cup egg white

¼ cup vanilla almond milk

1 packet of stevia

2 teaspoons baking powder 

compote:

6 strawberries

½ cup water

2 tablespoons raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons chia seeds

Makes 8 pancakes (2 pancakes = 1 serving) 

Blend cooked quinoa with all wet ingredients in blender or food processor.  Add in whole wheat flour a little at a time until batter is thick enough.   I like to use coconut oil in my pan to cook the pancakes! 

Of course you need something to top the pancakes with!  Something with more strawberry in it seemed the way to go, so I made a little compote to go with the pancakes.  While working on the pancakes put the compote ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Let simmer while you cook the pancakes, then last minute blend it all together in your blender (after washing out the pancake batter of course).