Gentle Reminder

Next month, it will be SIX months since I've moved here! Say what?! That's flippin' nuts! I cannot believe it's already almost been half a year! Time sure does fly!! Am I where I thought I would be at this point? Nope...but I'm where God wants me to be. On my way home from my Houston visit last weekend I was listening to KSBJ (the local Christian radio station) as far as it would get reception, the song, In Christ Alone came on and immediately I turned the radio up loud and got my praise on by myself in my car! I then downloaded it to my phone and it's been on repeat since! I listen to it every morning on my way to my first stop of the day. I have been making it my prayer because I need to remember why I'm here. This verse from the song its my favorite! I need to strive to make Christ my center, my all, because He is the one true constant in my life!

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

I didn't move to Fort Worth for myself. Yes, I love this city and the people that are important to me here, but I'm here to make a difference. I'm here because I was obedient to the gentle nudge of a loving Father who knew this is where I needed to be for the next phase of my life. I follow a girl on Instagram that has inspired me to put others first and I think that's what I'm here for! I'm here to make a difference in people's lives. That was what I loved about my former job...I got to make a difference and speak life into teenagers. Well now, I get to do the same thing with a different population, most of my patients are older, but just because they're older doesn't mean they don't need life spoken into them! I can bring light and happiness to a person that is scared, overwhelmed and nervous about an upcoming surgery just by being nice and listening to them. I also am inspired to start showing happiness to those around me. I LOVE doing little acts of kindness to show love! Whether it's sending a little note, a package or just a text to tell someone I love them, it brings me joy. It is a blessing to be able to lift someones spirits and let them know they are loved. 

It's my prayer daily that others can see and feel God's love for them through me. I want to be a beacon of love, grace and compassion. Compassion is hard for me, I don't give sympathy well and I'm learning to be compassionate. There are patients that you just want to set their equipment up and get out of there maybe because you're rushing and have a million other places or maybe because they just aren't the most pleasant person. But I'm really trying to show compassion to these patients because they deserve my all just like everyone else. 

So again, am I where I want to be? Nope...but I know I'm right where I'm supposed to be. God is teaching me daily and I'm learning to follow his will!

"But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just have faith.""

Mark 5:36

I mean, helllllooooo, it's THAT simple! Don't be afraid, have faith. 

A patient the other day, gave me these dog treats for my pups...it's the little things that make a bad day awesome! 

Easy Shrimp Recipe

I love food...I mean, who doesn't!? {I'd like to meet a person that says, food? meh.} And like everyone if I could whatever I wanted and not gain any weight that would AH-MAZING! So instead, I'm constantly trying to eat healthy and only have my yummiest {ie: not healthiest} foods in moderation. Therefore, my food board on Pinterest is loaded...mainly with healthy yummies but also with just pain good looking food! 

Pasta is high on my list, but I get bored with regular spaghetti and I could eat Alfredo sauce on every type of pasta imaginable, but I'd also be 6000 pounds! I try to find healthier ways to make pasta dishes that are still super flavorful and not high in calories! {win|win} Pioneer Woman is a favorite of mine and while her recipes aren't always the healthiest, they are SOOOOO good! This shrimp pasta, I originally made for my parents and it was a hit! It makes a lot of pasta so make sure you have enough mouths to feed! Being a single person, I won't make this unless I have company over or am making it for a group of people! 

One of my former athletes turned friends lives in Dallas and every two weeks we get together and eat, gossip, play with each other's dogs. One time I'll go to her apartment and the next time she comes to mine! It's a nice dose of "home" and good girl time! I made this pasta the other week when she came to my place! It was yum! I took some pictures but forgot to take an end result picture! {so sorry, but let's be real,her pictures on the website are way better than mine!}

Here's the recipe: I took it straight from here

Ingredients

• ½ cups Olive Oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 3 whole 14.5 Ounce Cans Diced (or Whole) Tomatoes
• ½ cups White Wine
• 2 pounds Jumbo Or Large Shrimp, Peeled And Deveined
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Fresh Parsley, Minced
• 1 pound Linguine, Uncooked
• Red Pepper Flakes, to taste

Preparation

Cook pasta for 1/2 the recommended cooking time. Pasta should still be very firm.

In a large skillet or pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Dump in the tomatoes and wine. Stir the mixture together, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cook for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a large parcel of heavy duty aluminum foil. It should be large enough to hold the entire pasta dish.

Throw the shrimp on the top of the pasta sauce. Throw the drained pasta over the top, then pour the whole dish onto the foil. Tightly wrap the foil into a parcel.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm until serving.

Open the foil parcel right before serving. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the top. Squeeze on lemon juice, if desired.

I did substitute whole wheat angel hair pasta for the linguine to make it a little healthier! 
It's a great, easy recipe and doesn't leave you feeling like you've over-eaten! 

Do y'all have any go-to, healthy pasta recipes?

You may notice something different around here...

When I started my blog, I knew nothing about designing a blog or how to do many things on my blog. Fast forward over a year and I still don't know how to design a blog or do many things on my blog! Thankfully my sweet friend, Julie, apparently has become a pro! She re-designed Megan's blog a while ago and I really liked it! So when I decided to attempt blogging  blog regularly again, I asked Julie if she could design something for me! 

I sent her links to some blogs I frequent and told her what I liked/didn't like and she came up with this design!! I think it captures my personality PERFECTLY!!! I LOVE the colors and the whole stinkin' design! I love how clean and simple it is (Julie may disagree about the simple part, ha!)!! I've told her how amazing she is and I really think she has a knack for this and should start herself a little side-biz!! 

So enjoy the new layout...I'm loving it and I think I'll be inclined to write more because honestly I was embarrassed to send people to my blog because it looked so childish and juvenile. But now... I want everyone to see! 

So thank you, thank you Julie!! I love it and I think others will too!!

I'm gonna leave y'all with a little iPhone dump because who doesn't love some pics! If you follow me on Instagram, I'm sorry for the repeats!

We celebrated Jackie and Canton's b-days...pretty much the Three Musketeers

My sweet co-pilot for the drive home last Thursday...Jackie was already asleep in the back. 

My two loved seeing/playing with Divot! They miss him! They walked like pros!

My main reason for going home last weekend was to celebrate this stud's 26th birthday!! 

Here's to a great end of the week! 

30 day Green Smoothie Challenge!

Happy April 1st! I thankfully am not a fan of April Fool's Day and now that I'm basically working with myself and not in a school, I don't have to worry about anyone any pranks! 

Last week, I saw an ad on my Facebook for a Green Smoothie Challenge...I'm all about Green Smoothies, so I clicked on it hoping it wasn't spam. I was in luck and it's actually an awesome website. www.simplegreensmoothies.com 

They are challenging people to replace on meal a day (usually breakfast) with a green smoothie. They give you the shopping list and recipes. They also have a 21 day cleanse program and you can buy the green smoothie recipes ahead of time so you can see them in advance! 

Today is Day 1 and I made the Simple Peach Smoothie.

SIMPLE PEACH  |  Serves 2

2 cups spinach, fresh

2 cups water

2 cups peaches

1 banana

*Can substitute peaches with mango or nectarines.

It was really good and it makes enough for two servings, so I'll grab another for a snack later on today! I'm really excited about the challenge, my friend and I are doing it together! I used to drink smoothies all the time, like every day, but I've gotten lazy and need to get back into it. It's a great way to get your veggies/fruits for the day and they are seriously delish! 

Yes, they may look like sludge, swamp water...I've heard it all, but seriously don't knock it before you try it! 

So here's to a new month and a healthy, happy month! I've got a couple things working as far as the blog goes...one is a new design thanks to a friend who is way better at that kind of thing then I am! 

Have you tried green smoothies? What's your favorite recipe?

xoxo,

SamanthaDiane

Chili and jogging...

Intriguing title huh?! I'm quite inventive these days! We all try to eat healthy and exercise right? Or am I the only one in the universe? {ps...duh, I know everyone always is saying I'm trying to eat better and workout}

So every Sunday I go to the grocery store with great hopes of buying wonderful things and cooking every night of the week meals that are amazing and healthy. I end up with a basket full of good stuff...and then it more than likely rots in my fridge|pantry. I have great ambitions to do wonderful things with the food...but I usually end up tired and not wanting to cook. Plus my darned kitchen is TINY and by tiny I mean TINY!! Like even with me and my one dog in it, there are too many bodies and I'm constantly kicking him out of the kitchen, ha! So anything that's intensive to cook is literally that, intensive. I generally end up making enough for the week and then it doesn't sound good the rest of the week! Again, am I the only one this happens to? It's flippin' hard to cook for one person, and I'm not a big fan of leftovers!

This week, Sunday was COLD and windy!! So I decided to make my mom's chili...I have been making it with ground turkey to make it healthier and this time, I didn't just use kidney bean, I used a can of kidney, pinto and black beans. It was DELICIOUS!! The added beans really made the texture different and wonderful!

Below is the recipe, it's super simple and not at all complicated. I've eaten it every night this week, except tonight, I had crawfish and it was amazing!!

Momma B's Chili:
2 large cans of Diced Tomatoes ( I use the ones with less sodium)
1 pkg of Ground Turkey
1 Onion (diced up, I cheated and bought already chopped onion)
1 can of beans (kidney, black, whatever you want)
Chili powder
-Brown the meat in a large pot
-Throw in onion and let it cook
-Don't drain the tomatoes and bean, put them in the pot.
- Put Chili Powder, salt, any other spices into the chili as desired...I don't measure anything, just dump it!


Simmer Chili until heated through!

Now for the Jogging part...my friend and I are thinking of signing up for the Color Vibe that's here in Arlington on April 26. Let me preface this by saying I HATE RUNNING!! Like hate is a strong word, but it's what it is...It's a great workout and I really envy those who run and enjoy it!

I have several friends who I believe enjoy running...at least I think they enjoy it b/c they run, and not just let's go for a jog, but they run...10ks, half marathons, marathons...honestly I think they're nuts!

The weather here has been great and I want to take advantage of it and at least be able to go out and jog for 30 minutes without dying! So yesterday I re-downloaded the Couch25k app...and did Day 1...and DIED! Like the last two jogging sessions I wanted to give up, and quit, but I didn't. I had ACL/Meniscus surgery in 2009 and 2010 and my left knee is not my favorite, and it doesn't like me very much most of the time. BUT I wanted to run, so I did.

I plan on doing it again tomorrow.

I'll keep y'all updated on my progress! It's gonna be a slow progress but I'm planning on keeping it up!

xoxo,

SamanthaDiane

Getting Back.

When the school year started this year, I was lost and broken... then I listened to the quiet voice of God telling me it was time to move on and start a new venture. This was one of the most compelling/scary times of my life thus far, and the closest I've been to my Creator. You see, I was clinging to His word and every whisper I heard, I learned what true faith was. Hebrews 11:1 never rang truer...I knew that everything that was happening was happening because it was God's will for me and that made it not so scary! I knew without a doubt in my heart that I had to jump and trust that God was going to catch me! Boy did/has He!

This has been a favorite of mine for a while and I love how it's the perfect definition of FAITH.

So from September-November I trusted, prayed, obeyed and rejoiced as one by one His promises rang true for me and new doors opened at the right time.

This verse was sent to me by a sweet friend that was in my bible study and knew how long I had been struggling at my job.

I loved the verse when she sent it, but it wasn't until I came to a church here in Fort Worth that this verse came back up and I decided it would be my 2014 Verse! I love it and 2014 is truly all about new things and relying on God and seeing where He's going to take me!

I haven't gone to church the past two weekends and almost didn't go this weekend. Bad weather yesterday and then having to work today which meant I'd have to go to the 9:30am service...ICK! But I went and am so glad I did! We just started a new series on Pneumatology, which is the study of the Holy Spirit. I'm excited to see where Pastor Jeff takes us! So many Christians balk at talk of the Holy Spirit, but let's face it He's around to stay. Our Pastor said something today and I loved it! He said that when we accept Jesus into our heart, the Holy Spirit is there tapping us on the shoulder saying, Hey! I'm here to help you from now on! How cool is that!?! It's His voice that we hear and it's Him who helps us out on behalf of God the Father and Jesus...even though they are all one person...hard to wrap your head around I know! :)

So I've been basically word vomiting because since I moved up to Fort Worth, I've become distracted and have fallen away from God. It took me a while to find a church I loved and now that I have I need to get back into the swing of things. I need to be praying daily, digging into the Word and listening to and following what He has in store for me! When I worked at the school, I'd spend my commute praying every morning for my day, the kids/coworkers I would come in contact with and for friends that were in need of prayer. Now, I'm on the road the majority of the day, in traffic...and I'm doing anything but praying. I'm grumbling, waving my hands {not in praise} and frustrated most days. I'm going to start using the beginning of my days to pray again and make sure I'm focusing on God and my relationship with Him daily above all else! I need to involve Him in my daily doings. Looking back, it's strange to see how many situations could've been different had I prayed about it/listened to that quiet nudge!

This has been lengthy and I'm sorry, but it's been on my mind and I needed to get it out!
Hope y'all have a had a great weekend and have a wonderful week!

Don't forget to take time to look for the little blessings and rejoice in them!

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane

Yummy Dinner

Today the weather was BE-A-UTIFUL!! There is currently a cold front blowing in and by blowing in, I mean blowing in right now!! Like the wind is HOWLING!! So, I took advantage of the warm evening and grilled up some chicken breasts. BORING right? WRONG!! A friend of mine makes this and it seriously so yum! He takes chicken breast and puts Cajun seasoning on them then throws them on the grill. Once they're done, you put swiss cheese {I'm guessing you can use whatever kinda cheese you want} on to melt. You then top it with a tomato and drizzle balsamic reduction over it. Holy cow it's good!! I also made broccoli that I usually throw in the oven, but tonight I threw it on some foil and put it on the grill. Y'all...it was ah-mazing!!! I love it in the oven and now on the grill...I'll never steam broccoli again! EVER! To round out my delicious meal, I made fingerling potatoes in the oven until they were perfectly crisp! I should've made the potatoes on the grill too. I love love grilling but have a hard time with chicken...but tonight I got it perfect! Love that the weather is getting to where we can cook outside! It was nice to have the dogs romping around the backyard while I "wo-manned" the grill!

I decided to put the tomatoes on the grill tonight to warm them up and it was a great idea!! I'm definitely going to experiment with different cheeses this summer. I've seen some recipes for caprese chicken on the grill. And I love me some caprese!! I'm planning on planting some basil again this year and could use it in said recipe!

I tend to stick to the same recipes and really need to branch out! I cook this and this quite often. But there are so many recipes I have pinned that I need to try! I'm going to try at least one new recipe a week! Y'all hold me to it! Do y'all have any go-to recipes that are different!?

Follow my food board on Pinterest or follow all of my boards!


xoxo,
SamanthaDiane