Dinners at Douglas

All this month I've been hosting dinners at my place on Tuesday night (except for the dinner this week, which was tonight). It's been nice to learn new recipes and cook for my friends. Tonight, Katie taught me to cook salmon and I made an apple crisp with Teddy Graham topping. All and all the months' cooking extravaganzas have turned out rather nicely.

Fat Tuesday Indeed

This morning I woke up early for Free Pancakes at IHOP before work. I tried to organize a group, but it ended up being just two of us, Holly and I. I'm just getting to know Holly and actually met her through Ben and Emma. We had a good chat and it set a nice tone for the day.

At work our HR Coordinator put organized a Mardi Gras potluck, complete with Zydeco music and beads! She made some yummy jambalaya! I brought French Bread.

After work it was pancakes part 2. My friend Lisa's church was putting on a pancake dinner fundraiser. All you could eat for $3. Quite a bargain, especially when you know the quality of the food the chef makes. Luke, from book group, whipped up some delicious pancakes. Also, I tried turkey sausage for the the first time. Not bad.

And then, as Tuesdays usually go, I'm heading to Founders. Holly plays open mike and I sip my Lemonade and listen to some great (and not so great) acts and unwind from the day.

Tomorrow's Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Now, what to give up this year?

Her Morning Elegance/Oren Levie

Sleeping is Not my Strong Suit

Conversation between Katie and I over email entitled, We Should Do This:

Katie: (link to Putnam County Spelling Bee National Tour [a musical at the Devos Place].)
Me: I do love musicals, but this one is coupled with my arch nemesis.
Katie: And what's that?
Me: Sleeping Bees of course!
Katie: Hahahaha. Please read your last comment. LOLFR...Those sleeping bees. So cute.
Me: I hate when bees sleep.

A Snowy Saturday

I found tickets online this past week from DTW to DUB for $461. The catch? They're for next weekend. If only work were not so crazy and I was a little more impulsive.

Grace, Milk, and Steak

Sometimes it feels like I've been on milk forever. As if I am consistently revisiting an issue. The meaning of grace seems to escape me. Sometime I get it and other time it's obvious that I don't. The other day a friend pointed out that I generally don't extend grace to myself. This caught me off guard, because I try to be intentional about bringing grace into this world. It became apparently that not only do I try to earn grace from God sometime, that I also strive to earn grace from myself. Apparently my standards for Amanda Waldron are unreachably high, and I often feel very discourage when I do not measure up to what I think I should be. Hmmm...maybe some day grace will be like a steak to me.

Busy Busy Busy

February is becoming just as busy as January. I'm trying to slow things down and updating this blog before I meet a friend at The Sparrows.

February was supposed to be a test in balancing my increased social life, but it's been marked with it's own challenges and I'm still fairly busy, which is not a bad thing. It is nice, however, just to take some time for an update.

The last weekend of January I venture again to WV and VA. Here are some photos.

You all remember Brian.

Nanna's Country Kitchen! My favorite resterant in Huntington. We went here for breakfast.

Amber and Paige drove down from MA. Amber is Jes' best friend. Sara and Holly are JEs' roommates. (Sara, Paige, Amber, Jeremy, Jes, Holly, ME)

We sidewalked chalk under a bridge and it's still up as of today.
I really like this picture.

I climbed down a revine to take this picture. Adventure: check!

Amber....or Molly Ringwald

Wendell Berry

Jes in the woods.

Jeremy played a show in Lynchburg.

We may have climbed a fence to get to this bridge.

The guys did not appreciate us being out here.

Such a fun pic. Paige being a gargoyle and Jeremy helping Amber up.

Our group! Amber, Sara, Jon, Holly, Paige, Jes, Jeremy, ME!

We went to a Super Bowl Party at Jes' church and I made Taco Dip. Jeremy tore up that lettuce.

HillyBilly Hotdogs in Huntington!