Week 32: The Week of Wild Weather

It has been a crazy week for weather! My GOODNESS it has been insane! Earlier in the week it was okay, Wednesday there was thunder and lightening in the morning, snow until about 7, then some sleet and by the time I left for home the rain had washed most of the snow away! Today it has been absurdly windy. Most of the time it sounds like the wind it tearing all of our siding off, it looks like the shingles on the house across the road are probably going to be in the next county by tomorrow morning and walking in a straight line is darn near impossible! Can't wait to see what the next week brings...hopefully something semi-springy!

This week my work schedule was pretty good, so I got a lot of studying done and felt super accomplished! Monday, Jonathan had a long day at work and we both spent the evening working on different projects. He finished our taxes while I did some studying and we ate white chicken chili for dinner - thank goodness for crockpot meals!

On Tuesday, Jonathan had a better day and got home at a better time. We had leftovers for dinner before he had to go to Bible Study. While he was gone I did some studying and had quiet time. After Bible Study, Jonathan got to relax and play some guitar while I got pork chops ready for the next day.

Wednesday we had marinated pork chops with roasted potatoes, both of which were really good! We spent the evening relaxing and playing another game of Patchwork before returning it to the Steiger's on Thursday at small group. Small group on Thursday was great, as usual. We enjoyed our time with friends and Jonathan is gearing up for the second half of the semester. He is going to be helping lead the guys' study!

I was off on Friday, which was awesome and allowed for me to go visit Hannah and get allergy shots. Jonathan worked over and didn't get home until about 5:15 and then we threw some things together and headed over to the Harrell's to learn how to make fajitas! Lyndsie and Joel were great teachers and we now feel very capable to make our own fajitas once we have a grill! They are from Texas, so we feel as though they are the experts on this subject. After we ate and they put Adah to bed, we played some Forbidden Island and Bananagrams.

Jonathan had to work on Saturday since they are so busy at work, so I stayed home, did laundry and studied. He came home and surprised me with a movie (A Star Is Born) to watch, so we had some mac and cheese, watched the movie and had a good evening at home after a busy few days.

Today has been refreshing. Church was great this morning, then we went grocery shopping, ate mexican delight and talked to our parents. I cleaned the kitchen, we had a mishap with the sparkling juice we got at the grocery store, it had some fountanous qualities apparently...so since I needed to mop the floor it just made sense to clean the whole thing too. Since then, I have been studying and Jonathan had volleyball. Apparently their team picked up a stray human looking for friends...mainly Jonathan picked up a stray man looking for friends. Jonathan said the guy just started following him around and ended up playing on their team for the evening...so THAT is interesting! Now we are just planning to get ready for tomorrow and enjoy the last few hours of our weekend!

[Meals]

• Monday: Chicken Potato Chowder
• Wednesday: Bacon Pasta
• Otherwise - leftovers

We are gearing up for the next week. Jonathan is expecting another busy week at work and I am wrapping up a rotation and getting ready for the next one! It could be a little crazy, but it is bound to be fun! Have a good week! We love you all!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Week 31: First Married Valentine's Day

This week has gone by quite quickly, but thankfully we have not been very busy, just a lot of our normal routine, but we had a fun time!

Monday was great, we had a good evening, worked out at the YMCA, Jonathan worked on our taxes and watched some basketball while I played some piano. For supper we had leftover philly cheesesteak sandwiches and when I got home from work I got the Teriyaki steaks ready for the next day. After we ate we did dishes and had a great time talking and catching up while we did them! Mom asked me to share the recipe and I seriously doubt you will all be impressed, but I will share the recipe anyway!

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[Philly Cheesesteak with French Dip]

• 1T oil
• 1 onion
• 1 pepper
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 T butter
• bread
• 2 c. roast beef
• provolone cheese
• 1 c. juices from beef

~Cook the roast beef - I just threw it in the crock pot on high for 6 hours then shredded it and saved the juices. 

~The onions and peppers are cooked in the oil for about 3-4 minutes until they were all soft, then add the garlic for 30 seconds. 

~After that you just make it like a grilled cheese sandwich! Butter the bread, put some cheese on there, roast beef, peppers and onions, I put more cheese because I love it, then another piece of bread and butter.

~Heat up the juices and serve them with the sandwich for dipping and, ta-da, you're ready to go! It was super tasty, delicious and, most importantly, super easy!

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Tuesday we had teriyaki steak, Jonathan was kind enough to get it started in the crock pot for me since I have to leave a little earlier than he does in the mornings, then he made the rice to go with it when he got home so I could get the chicken pot pie ready for Wednesday's dinner. I studied while I was at work, then I came home and did some quizzes before Jonathan came home. It was a little bit frustrating because I ended up staying at work for an extra, eh, 45 minutes since I ended up talking to the resident for quite a while, but it was good conversation and I feel like we bonded - so, totally worth it! In the evening Jonathan had Bible study, so I hung out at home, did dishes, showered and read for a little while. For some reason I was completely exhausted Tuesday evening so I actually went to bed by 8:30 and Jonathan called and talked to Dillon for awhile! 

Wednesday my co-student was not there, so I was at work alone, but it was a good day! I got to spend some time chatting with my preceptor and studying for the NAPLEX. Once I got home I took some quizzes over the topics I studied and started to prepare snacks for small group on Thursday. We went to workout at the YMCA before dinner, ate chicken pot pie for dinner and watched the NCIS episode I was super excited for. In the evening I made cookie bars for small group and Jonathan watched his video for his Bible study, then he did dishes while I took a shower.

Snack tray for small group!

Thursday was Valentine's day, our first one as a married couple! We had small group, so I came home and got the chip dip started and prepared the tray with the rest of the snacks. I was so excited to celebrate with our small group! It was so fun to get everything ready and have a bunch of food with everybody. We had cookie bars, tortilla chips, cheesy dip, trail bologna, cheese and crackers and it was all great! Plus, I got to use my new serving tray, that may have been one of the best parts of it! When Jonathan got home I made him go on a scavenger hunt through the apartment for his Valentine's day gifts since I didn't have any fun valentines day wrapping paper. He got a hand rake for our lemon tree, a new pair of scissors and the movie "The Greatest Showman" - which, honestly, is a gift to both of us. Jonathan brought me some flowers when he got home and then sent me to find the peanut butter M&Ms he got for me - it was all perfect! Since I was pretty wrapped up with getting snacks ready for small group, we had leftovers for dinner and watched the Masked Singer. Small group was wonderful and everyone ate a lot (which was very helpful) so we had less leftovers!

Patchwork

Friday I was off work, which was good, because my truck needed some love from the mechanic, so I just stayed home, studied, did some laundry and waited for Jonathan to get home! Once he did, I made some dried beef gravy and mashed potatoes for dinner, then we played Patchwork, a game the Steigers lent us, then we watched half of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. 

Valentine's selfie!

Saturday we finished the movie in the morning while we ate breakfast, then we both worked on our laptops. I did some studying and Jonathan worked on the taxes again. For lunch we had leftovers, grocery shopped, got ready for our date night and then we went to C-Town Wings and watched the Green Book. It was a surprise date night from Jonathan as a Valentine's day gift and it was absolutely perfect! Of course, there was the one little glitch with the little boy stopping beside our booth and projectile vomiting for quite a bit, honestly, he didn't look big enough to hold all the puke, but he really let it fly. Poor guy. Thankfully, we had a fantastic date night anyway! Dinner was great, the movie was WONDERFUL and we enjoyed spending some time together. 

Today has been a great day, Jonathan's parents and Emily came to church with us and we went to get pizza afterwards. This afternoon I made muffins and chicken salad, Jonathan prepped his veggies to snack on for the week, then we cleaned up the kitchen while we talked to the Haas parents. Jonathan is at volleyball at the moment, then we will have dinner later and will spend the evening relaxing and getting ready for the rest of the week!

{Menu}

• White Chicken Chili
• Lemon Garlic Pork Chops and Roasted Potatoes
• Meatloaf and Scalloped Potatoes
• Breakfast: Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins

Have an awesome week! We love you all!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Week 30: Scrumptious Spontaneity

Hello there and happy National Flannel Day (this should be confirmation that we truly do live in the best nation in the world)! I hope you all had as relaxing of a week as we did! After a few weeks of feeling stretched a little thin, we prioritized relaxation this week and weekend, so we are definitely feeling ready for and relaxed for our next week! It has been a great week spending time together! The rain has gotten quite old, but the warmer temperatures are enjoyable!

Monday was a pretty boring day for both of us at work, so we came home and got to go work out for a little while, it was really nice! I got a lot done while I was at work, so that cleaned up my evening too! Once we got home from working out we had some potato soup for dinner, Jonathan had a phone call with someone about potential jobs, we got dishes done and, as you probably noticed...I finally got to writing you guys!

Tuesday and Wednesday were, as usual, average. Jonathan had Bible study on Tuesday night so I just relaxed since I was all caught up with school. Once he got home he called Tim, so it was nice to talk to him! Wednesday night Jonathan worked late, we had quesadillas and really enjoyed our dinner time, lots of chatting and catching up on life! Hang out time was awesome! 

Thursday we had quesadillas again before small group. I got home early, so that was nice, I got to relax a bit before we went on our crazy way. We watched some Masked Singer, which we loved, as usual. Small group was great, as usual, and we are still sad to be leaving our awesome friends! Thankfully, we went to lunch with some of them today! The Steigers invited us and the Daileys for lunch at Bob Evans, so we really enjoyed our time with them! Mike and Emily's little girls are absolutely adorable, so we had a GREAT lunch today - probably one of the high-lights of our week! It is always nice to have good friends to eat good food with!

Friday Jonathan worked late and I was home all day! Since I am working four ten hour days this month, I get to have Fridays off, so that is definitely a plus! I got some Valentines day shopping done, did laundry and studied a little bit. In the evening we meal planned for the next week, which both of us enjoy doing, then we had beef and noodles, did some reading and watched half of Daddy's Home. It was a pretty lame movie, so we didn't make it the whole way through. We finished it Saturday morning and still think it was just boring - definitely not a recommended one.

Saturday was a nice, relaxing day. We cleaned the apartment, which takes about 15 minutes, then we walked downtown to check out some of the shops! There were really cute shirts at one of the stores, we enjoyed the time outside, window shopping! For lunch and dinner we ended up having leftovers, but we had some orange julius' with dinner, played a few games of Polish Poker and Golf, talked to the Haas parents and then watched Deadpool. Honestly, it was another pretty "eh" movie. Another movie we would not really recommend, it was lame. 

Today has been a great day, especially with our spontaneous lunch outing with our small group friends! After our lunch we went grocery shopping at Aldi's and Walmart then we came home and got some meal prep done. Jonathan got his veggies ready for next week, I made scones and fruit dip, then we did dishes and talked to Jonathan's parents. This evening is looking pretty good, Jonathan has volleyball, so I will spend some time relaxing and getting ready for next week, which is looking pretty chill again! Hopefully the weather will keep itself under control and decide whether or not it is going to be snowy or rainy. It is currently snowing, so we will see what happens next! 

{Menu}

• Chocolate chip scones (NEW recipe!)
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Teriyaki Steaks and Rice (NEW recipe!)
• Dried Beef Gravy and Mashed Potatoes
• Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches with Dip (NEW recipe!)

Stay warm this week! We love you all!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Week 29: The Deeper Freeze!

Western Ohio has really hit us hard this week, folks! My mom sent me a screen shot of her weather app last Sunday and out of all of the options - Arizona, Florida, Alaska, Michigan, East Rochester and Wapak - we were the coldest. Now, we were not the coldest of all the places because I know it was super duper cold all over the Midwest - but it was pretty darn cold! Thankfully, we both have awesome vehicles and are the type of people who like to be prepared, so we had no problems getting to work in a warm and timely fashion! I hope everyone else had as much success as we did!

Monday was fairly cold, but not terrible. It was a busy day for me! I came home from my rotation, worked out, showered, got our dinner ready and prepared dinner for the next night before the first Girlfriends in God meeting at church. The event was really awesome and I am so thankful to be part of such an awesome church - definitely the part of Wapak we will miss the most! Jonathan stayed home and helped me out by finishing getting the dinner ready for Tuesday and tidying the house up a little bit, since it is something we both appreciate immensely! When I came home he was looking at some potential jobs and taking some notes - lots of decisions to make! We are excited to find out where he is going to work so we can find a good, central place for the two of us to live so neither of us has to drive too far!

Tuesday evenings Jonathan has Bible Study, so I just got some studying done, relaxed and watched some TV. We had ham butt, green beans and potatoes with crescents, it was super delicious! Especially since it was super duper cold outside! Wednesday was another bitterly cold day, it was also my last day of my January rotation, so we spent the evening together, looking at Jonathan's resume and linkedin account, at leftovers and played two games of 7 Wonders Duel (the game we borrowed from Steve and Elise)!

Thursday I had the day off and I always enjoy a nice day off to catch up on life, so I got a lot of studying done, played some piano and viola, made dinner, actually did something with my hair (a true miracle) and was all ready for small group when Jonathan got home! Poor Jonathan had a long day at work working on his project due on Friday, so he was a bit exhausted by the time he got home and I was quite ready for him to be home with me! Small group in the evening was great, we finally told them about my new job and the fact we are moving. They are all excited for us, but are sad for us to be leaving and, quite honestly, we are sad to be leaving them too! As much as we look forward to being closer to family (and, let's be honest, anywhere in Northeastern Ohio is closer than 2-3 hours!), we will definitely miss the friendships we have made here! Lots of prayers asking for a great church family and life-giving friendships when we move!

Friday was my first day at Mary Rutan and it was basically just an introduction day, so I got home pretty early and was able to get some laundry studied, dishes done and a solid 2 hour nap all knocked out before Jonathan got home! In the evening we went to the Wapak/Celina basketball game in Wapak with Graham and Dillon and went to Happy Daz for ice cream afterwards! Yep, we are crazy people and see no problem with going to get ice cream after a week of negative temperatures - nothing wrong at all.

Saturday Jonathan went to a gun show in Lima with the men from the small group while I stayed home and studied. He was overwhelmed, but enjoyed the time with the guys, they are super awesome and love sharing their knowledge. In the evening we went grocery shopping, ate at La Neta, played some music together and watched most of Wreck-It Ralph...unfortunately I got too tired, so we went to bed and finished it on Sunday when we got back from church and ate lunch. Yesterday was a crazy day (hence why I am just now writing!), we took our downstairs neighbor to church since his truck is being fixed, prepped meals for the next week, had lunch, finished Wreck-It Ralph and Last Man Standing, I took a nap, Jonathan worked on our taxes (bless him), we did dishes and got all ready for Graham and Nick to come over for the Super Bowl! It was so fun to watch the game with those two, lots of good humor and positive attitudes, which is always welcomed here! Ain't nobody got time for grouchy, pouter pants when everyone else it trying to enjoy the gathering! Of course, I especially enjoyed the outcome, as a Patriots fan, and Jonathan kinda did since he is a fan of a Patriots fan (a.k.a...he's a fan of me)! 

This next week is looking like a good one...though I'm not a huge fan of the rain! 

[Meals]

• Monday: Potato soup (tonight!)
• Wednesday: Chicken Quesadillas
• Friday: Beef and Noodles
• Breakfast: blueberry muffins!

Have a great week! Enjoy the warm-ish weather until it gets cold again! We love you all!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan