Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

~Isaiah 53: 10-12

He is Risen!

I Roasted a Chicken!

For the first time. Ever.

Oh happy day!

Thoughts of roasting a chicken have been in my head for the last couple weeks. I had never done it before, and I was a little nervous. Finally, I decided I was going to roast one this past Sunday.

I used an Ina Garten recipe - she had never failed me before, and she didn't this time either. The chicken was amazing - it was so moist and tender. Yummmm. The veggies I cooked up with it had amazing flavor from the chicken juices. I am definitely planning on making this again in the near future. It was super easy, and produced fabulous results!

The part I was most nervous about was cleaning out the chicken. I got our chicken from Trader Joe's and to my happiness, the insides were already cleaned out - all the gross stuff had already been removed. Number 547 why I love Trader Joe's.

And for once in my life, I actually took pictures of the preparation and cooking process.

Veggies that I chopped and roasted with the chicken - onions, celery, carrot, sweet potato, and my fav, mushrooms!

Garlic and lemon that I stuffed into the chicken cavity

Preparing to lather the chicken in butter - hellooooo treadmill!

Chicken covered in salt, pepper, butter, and thyme. I think next time I'll add lemon zest.

And the final result

And onto my plate - so delicious and I can't wait to make this again!

I recently just read a blog post where there was a list of some of the author's most favorite books. As I've said in previous posts, I love to read. Because of work, I often don't have time these days to read much more than journals. I used to spend more summers growing literally glued to my stack of library books. That was the highlight of my summer - going to the library every few weeks to get a fresh batch of books to read. Nerdy, yes. But oh man, the stories I've read.

I love to reflect on the books I've read, and it's always fun to put them in list form :) So, here are some of my all-time favorite books. Some of these books I've read several times, and this is a list that is constantly being added to.

The Counte of Monte Cristo - this is my all-time favorite, i don't even know how many times i've read it. and the movie, although well-done, does not even come close to the amazingness of this book.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Pride and Prejudice

The Diary of Anne Frank

The Pact - really, every Jodi Picoult book I've read has been amazing

The Ragamuffin Gospel

Beach Music

Harry Potter

The Hunger Games - this is a 3-book series, I've read the first two so far. these books are fiction, and have a very interesting story line

Bel Canto - i was hooked after the first sentence

I Capture the Castle

The Blind Assassin

Just thinking about these books and all the amazing books that are out there that I have yet to read makes me want to become part of a book club. Anyone???

O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that your are mindful of him,

and the son of man that your care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,

all sheep and oxen, and also the bets of the field,

the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

~ Psalm 8.

Oh how I needed to hear these words this morning.

One thing people may learn quickly after being in my home is that I love to read.

Anything.

Books, magazines, medical journals, cookbooks - we have an abudance of these.

I enjoy fiction in particular -there are shelves filled with all sorts of fiction. From Harry Potter to Edgar Allen Poe's short stories.

But I digress. What I really want to talk about is my obscene love for Pride and Prejudice. I'm pretty sure every girl in my 8th grade English class has a mild obsession with this book. Near the end of the year, our teacher used the entire week to show us the 5 hour BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, with Colin Firth.

I have loved it since, but did not actually read the book until high school. Jane Austen writes beautifully and the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy are one of the most complex in all literature. If you have not yet read this book, or seen the movie, you must. And soon. If you don't have time for the BBC version, the Keira Knightley version, is also very well done.

But seriously, why would you not want to watch a movie with Colin Firth in it?

I am loving...

1. My husband. He blesses my life.

2. The pretty pink flowers he surprised me with after a long day of work.

3. Our new MacBook Pro - it just makes blogging so much more fun.

4. That I ended my Real Simple subscription ( i was a faithful subscriber for several years - it was finally time to let go)

5. So I could start subscribing to Food Network. And the first magazine I received? The Italian Issue. Food Network, I love you.

6. That in just a few short days I will be boarding a ship headed for the Bahamas and Key West. Hellooooo vacation!

7. My nook that my generous parents bought me as a "bon voyage" gift. And it was already pre-loaded with Pride and Prejudice!

A Few Things

Well hello there. Life is busy, and work is crazy. Per the usual. So, I haven't really blogged in awhile.

Oh well.

But now, I have a few things to share.

Nothing truly witty or profound. Just some things that are going on in my life.

Ready?

1. I recently started the Couch to 5k running program. There was a time when I could run 4 miles, without passing out. Then residency began. I'm supposed to fit exercise into 14 hour days, or 80+ hour work weeks? Uh, no thanks. So now, I can barely run a mile without having to rest.

The problem is, I just don't feel healthy without doing some sort of exercise, whatever type it is. And I love to eat things like this.

So, I've really just started the program. I've only done two days so far. What I love is that when you first start, you alternate walking and jogging for 30 minutes. If I were to start running on my own without some guidance, I would try to push myself to hard and run for a full 30 minutes, feel terrible afterwards, and not run again for weeks at a time.

I don't want to become obsessed with exercise. I just want to feel healthy, and to feel like I'm taking care of myself. And I'd like to be able to do a 5k again.

2. Very soon, my sweet husband and I will be going on a cruise! I haven't had a vacation since October, and I am more than slightly pumped for this trip. We are leaving out of Charleston (my second love), and will be headed for Key West and the Bahamas. Just the thought of sunning, beaches, and lounging by the pool with a margarita or daquiri in hand makes me smile.

Neither of us have ever been on a cruise, so I've been doing a lot of searching to know what to expect, and what to bring. Obviously there are no brainers like - sunscreen, sunglasses, magazines, swim suits, etc. But will I really need my crossword puzzle and sudoku books (don't hate!), or my ipod. What about my long black semi-formal dress? Or my exercise clothes and gym shoes? Adam is skeptical that I'll actually use them - I'm determined to show him wrong.

So, with all my searching for the ultimate cruise packing list (i love lists), I have made an overwhelmingly long one, including the items stated above. It'll be interesting to see what I actually will and will not use (such as the already mentioned running shoes...HA!)

3. The Lord has been teaching me much these past few months about patience. Patience has always been something I struggle with. I can be impatient with people, specifically my husband and the parents of the little kiddos I take care of. I'm impatient with lines, crowds, etc. These last few months at work have been incredibly challenging. The patient load has been overwhelming and leaving me exhausted. I have seen many sick children this winter season, along with their very worried parents. Even if it is a simple infection, such as a cold, parents don't necessarily know that - that's why they're coming to the ER! I'm not exactly sure what has changed. I still have moments where I feel like I'm gritting my teeth and going through the motions just to make it through the day. But, I do feel like the Lord has been changing my heart. He has been faithful to give me the strength and the ability to patiently explain to parents what is going on with their child, and how to best take care of them. He has also helped me to love them better. There is much growing to do, but I am thankful that the Lord is showing me where I need to change, and that He is helping me to do so.