Steph & Katie's Excellent Adventure: Birmingham, Baton Rouge, Memphis

These three cities were not really the bulk of our trip, but they had good food so I figured they were worth mentioning :)

Steph & Katie's Excellent Adventure: N'Awlins

After driving through (and around) Birmingham on Friday morning, Katie and I went on to New Orleans.  We had to cross Lake Pontchartrain to get there, so I drove across (what I hope is) The Biggest Bridge of My Life. 

Steph & Katie's Excellent Adventure

My friend Katie turned 30 back in November, and I told her 30 was a pretty big deal so we need to do something to celebrate.  She decided on a road trip to New Orleans.  And St. Louis. And Nashville and Birmingham and Baton Rouge and Memphis.  In January.

100

Well, kids... this is it.  My 100th post.  To commemorate this milestone, I will share 100 things that make me happy (in no particular order).

3 things

1. For the past couple of years, I have been trying to simplify my life, especially the amount of stuff we have.  Recently, I have been on a mission to get stuff out of our house.  Like trash.  

Santa Fe Cheese Soup

I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe with y'all yet!  Its one of our favorites.  Easy and tasty.

What DO you eat?

As I have discussed my diet with several people, I explain that for two weeks I am to have no carbs:  no sugar, no starches (bread, rice, anything containing flour), and no fruit.  The question that usually follows is "Then what can you eat?"  To put it simply: meat, beans, nuts, vegetables, and minimal dairy products.  Supposedly I am supposed to avoid saturated fats, but I find carbs challenging enough, so I don't really worry about fats.

Nine Bean Soup

Even though this recipe is called Nine Bean Soup, there are usually more than 9 types of beans in it.  I just buy bean soup mix.

1 Kings 19:9-13

⁹ There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The LORD Appears to Elijah

    And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

 ¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

 ¹¹ The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”

   Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

   Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Insulation Installation

Since our beloved house is 100 years old, it has a few "imperfections."  While several of these contribute to the character of our home, some are annoying, inconvenient, and even costly.

Day 3

I am now 3 days in to my two weeks of no carbs.  It has been a lot harder than I thought it would be, and I am a lot hungrier that the diet promised.  I am supposed to be able to eat whenever I am hungry, but I need to keep my cheese and nuts consumption to a moderate amount and supposedly supplement with veggies. The problem is, veggies don't fill me up at all.

A List

• I hope that everyone had a great time over the holidays.  I did!  We had a great time with Tim's family in Michigan and spent New Year's Eve with some families from church.
• I love my in-laws.
• I love my church.