Greetings from the Bay Area! It’s great to be reunited with my grandparents — my grandma is walking around with just a cane now! I’m so proud of her! And last night I was reunited with my sweetheart, who I hadn’t seen for more than 3 weeks because I dog-sat/house-sat for my parents while they were away on their trip to Ireland. It felt like I was gone a really long time! Tonight I’m bringing dinner over to Allyn’s apartment… I’m thinking of making my turkey enchiladas. They’re super easy to prep ahead and then pop into the oven when you’re ready to eat.

My morning started off with a hearty bowl of cinnamon oatmeal with blueberries and sliced pear, and the rest of the pear on the side.

I needed something to give me sustained energy because it’s going to be a busy morning around here — I’m serving as Worship Associate for the first time at my church! In addition to assisting the minister with a bunch of preparation duties for the service, I’ll also be giving two short speeches: the Call to Worship and the Call for the Offering. I’m a little nervous, but mostly excited and honored.

Before I head out, it’s time for goals…

Here’s how I did on my goals from this past week:
– complete new draft of my novel-in-progress {getting really close!!}
– ~~prepare for Worship Associate duties at church~~
– ~~soak up time with my family~~
– ~~do yoga twice~~
– ~~read One Plus One by JoJo Moyes~~

Here are my goals for this upcoming week:
– complete new draft of my novel-in-progress
– finish editing work
– prepare for first week of teaching/new semester
– do yoga twice & core exercises five times
– read 100 pages of Into the Night Sky by Caroline Finnerty

And here are some recipes I’m drooling over this week:
– greek orzo pasta salad via The Pajama Chef
– pb cup oatmeal & carrot cake oatmeal via the real-life RD
– honey peach muffins with oat streusel topping via Two Peas & Their Pod
– 17 freezer-cooking recipes via Homeschool Creations & Money-Saving Mom
– my own pumpkin pasta